The One's Who Almost Got Away
by chele20035
Summary: Peeta always thought of Katniss as the one who got away, he just didn't realize what he did leave when he left town 5 years ago. it was only after a hometown visit and a chance birthday party when he comes face to face with his past and he hopes his future.
1. Chapter 1

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to janeeyre54 and nonnie_mouse for letting me pest when I wanted someone to read this… and a thank you for taking a minute to read it! There will be many more chapters and they will be longer I promise! Another thank you for the other writers on this fandom before me, I borrowed some of their names for these beloved characters.

And I don't own anything with the hunger games… just a good imagination…

October

Katniss hid behind her favorite oak tree in the back yard. The small giggles drifted to her across the yard then she heard the small voice say, "Mama! I'm going to find you! Where oh where could you be?" As she peered around the tree she saw the little blonde head look around the corner of the house looking for her. They played this game every day and she always hid in the same place and he still had to look everywhere else before he found her. He looked up from the corner and then went over to where Charlie's dog house was and looked down into it. She gave a giggle. Only her son would think she could fit in side of the small terrier's house. He then walked over to his club house that was attached to his swing set. That was the new addition to the yard. She had built it herself, well with Gale and Rory's help of course. That was his 4th birthday present. Once it had gotten warmer, they had cake and ice cream and his new friends from school to help him play on it for the first time ever.

He climbed into the club house and called for her. Then she waited… and waited… and waited… he must have gotten distracted by the toys that were in there. So on hunter's feet she crept across the yard to peer inside of the clubhouse window. He was there talking to his superman and his Spiderman. She could over hear him telling his friends about his day at school. "Ms. Annie let me color whatever I wanted and then she said that I drew just like my daddy could. Superman how does Ms. Annie know about my daddy? Why is it she has seen him but I never have? I just want him to come and see me once so I can hug him." At those words, Katniss's heart broke even more than what it already was.

"Oh Jack-jack. I'm sorry honey that you feel that way."

His little snapped up. "Mommy! You are supposed to be hiding! I was coming to find you. I just had to tell Superman something first. Can I have a snack? I'm hungry."

"Of course Jack-jack. Come on. It's almost time for supper."

As they walked into the house that is when Aunt Prim, Jack's favorite person in his little world, besides his mama of course, arrived home from her classes. "There you are! "He said as he threw himself at her legs. "Are you a doctor yet?" Prim and Katniss laughed. Since Prim started medical school at district that fall that was the question that Jack asked her every day when she arrived home. Katniss had graduated 4 years ago, right after she had found out she was pregnant with her degree in business. Once she saved up enough, she opened up her camping and outdoor supply store. She had just hired Posy and Vick Hawthorne to work in the storefront so she could start giving guided tours in the state parks and forests that surrounded their town. Business was going good. So good in fact that she didn't have to take out the loan her parents' house like she thought she was going to have to.

Prim kissed Jack on the top of the head. "I've got to go meet Rory at Sae's. I won't be here for supper sis."

"Well thank you for telling me this time!" Katniss called after Prim as she ran up the stairs to change and drop off her books.

Katniss sliced up an apple so Jack could have his snack. As he climbed up on the bar stool to watch her, she asked him about his day. "Oh it was good mommy. We played outside and ate lunch and snack. I didn't take a nap. Ms. Annie said as long as I was on my cot I didn't have to." Of course he was saying all this as he was fighting a yawn.

"Is that all you did today Jack-jack?" Katniss didn't want to right out ask him about what Annie had said; she wanted him to ask her those questions. She needed to take him to school early so she could talk to Annie. She tried to remember if she had talked to her about Jack's dad. She didn't like that Annie brought him up like she did.

Jack looked down at his apple and took a deep breath. "Ms. Annie said that I could draw just like daddy could. Why does she know what daddy can do? "

"Baby… Annie knew daddy when we all went to school together. Remember I told you, mommy and Annie and Johanna and aunt Madge all were friends. "

"Ohhhh" he said. It came out as a sigh. Katniss knew that when he got that look, and that little boy, smaller than he is now voice, he was fighting tears. He looked up at his mommy, his anchor in his little heart that kept him grounded, "But mommy, why won't he come to see me?" tears were falling now. "You said that one day I'll get to see him. Is it one day yet? Can we go see him? Does he know where I live?"

She walked around the counter and gathered her little man in her arms. She felt the tears coming down her face too as she held him. She knew that one day she was going to have to start answering those questions. But how could she when she didn't know herself? She scooped him up and walked over to the couch and sat down with him in her lap. As she smoothed his sweaty little boy curls away from his forehead, and smelled his little boy smell, she was amazed how everyday he looked more and more like a miniature version of his father. Her silver eyes looked back at her, thick curly blonde hair that was like hers when it curls at the slightest bit of humidity but the rest was his father made over. "I love you my Jack-jack. One day, we will have those answers. But know it's not today. And I and your Aunt Prim and Uncle Gale and Aunt Madge love you very very much. That will never change."

Jack wiped his nose on his mommy's sleeve. "Ewwwww Jack-jack! "She said. He gave his mommy the biggest grin ever, and that was one of his little giggles. "Let's go find something we can eat for supper, ok?"

He gave his mommy another hug. "I want pizza."

"Mmmm that does sound good. What kind?"

"Your pizza! He giggled. Oh how she will never get tired of hearing that sound. So they stood up and went into the kitchen together to start the dough so they could make pizza.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is chapter 2… yay! I just need to thank some people first… thank you once again to nonnie_mouse and janeeyre54 for reading and letting me ask and ask again how it sounded. And sohypothetically for being so encouraging! And a very special thank you for everyone who took a minute to read the first chapter and to follow and to favorite it. This one is all Peeta and getting him home for at least a weekend…**

He was tired, so tired. He didn't think he had ever been this tired in his life. He had just finished working an 80 hour work week. Even when he was still at home working in the bakery he didn't work this hard. At least it was sitting behind a desk work and not physical labor. He had started working for the firm right after college and he had been promoted four times in four years. Right now he was at the Charlotte office to test the waters to see if he wanted to move and take it over from Portia who didn't want to come back to work after her maternity leave. He had been working at the Atlanta branch for the past four years. When he had finished his latest job, the big bosses had been so impressed that they offered him the second in command at the branch in Charlotte.

Running his hands through his hair, and sighing in exhaustion, he turned off his desk lamp and locked up the office after telling his temporary assistant to go home. It was Friday so he had some time to rest and to think before he gave them his answer on Monday. As he drove back to the hotel he was staying at, he remembered coming to Charlotte when he was a boy with his family. It had grown a lot since then but if he moved then he would be closer to home than he was in Atlanta. His family wasn't that close, but when it mattered they were. His mom could have her moments but he learned a long time ago that she wanted more for her sons than what she had. That's why she could be so hard on her family at times. Instead of letting him stay home and take over the bakery, she had pushed him into the fine arts/advertising degree than he graduated with and now was working in that field. Tomorrow he might drive up to the mountains to visit his hometown. It would be good to go see everyone. Get some fresh bread and fresh air before he had to drive back to Atlanta on Sunday night.

The next morning he woke up bright and early. It was amazing how after all this time; he was still on baker's hours. So he checked out of the hotel and got in his truck and turned towards home. He let his mind began to wonder as he drove. He wondered if she was still in town. He hadn't seen her since college graduation, when they had had that big awful fight. The fight that broke him. Even after all this time, he couldn't think about her without regret going through his heart and a longing so strong at times it felt like it was going to choke him. He still didn't know why he didn't go back to apologize that night. He had tried to call her before leaving to go to Atlanta, but she never did return his calls. He would even call his dad to get him to see about her. She had even stopped coming into the bakery after that.

Memories of their time together in college flooded his senses. Studying together, but not really getting anything done, hanging out with everyone down by the river, the sweet nights when they would spend all night tangled up in each other. He knew that she was still in their hometown. Dad had told him about seeing her through the years at this store or that one. Where was she working at in their little town? There wasn't a lot of professional jobs there. Right about now he saw a billboard on the side of the road. Since he was in advertising he always noticed those. "Daddy Everdeen's Wilderness Supply" he read out loud. Wait… could it be Katniss had finally opened up her own business? She had always talked about it when they were in school. It was a dream she had said that her dad had always talked about doing when he was sharing his passion with her growing up. If that was her, then he was truly happy for her. It was just weird how his dad had never mentioned it when they talked.

He pulled up in the family parking behind the bakery and parked his truck. He didn't call his parents to tell them that he was on the way. He stopped at the back door and took a deep breath before stepping in the door. As past experience dictated, his visits home were either really good, or really, really bad. He guessed that's why he didn't come back as often as he should. He opened the door and stepped into the place that held his childhood memories.

His dad was standing at the prep table getting the loaves ready for the oven. By this time this was the second batch going in. Saturdays were the busy day of the week as most of the town was off of work and spent the day in the quarter running the weekly errands. looked up and his eyes lit up as he saw his youngest son coming in the back door. He clapped his hands together and they met and embraced. Peeta hadn't been home since the previous Christmas, and it was now October, almost Halloween.

"Son! Where did you come from? We had no idea you were coming by!"

Peeta laughed, "I wanted it to be a surprise."

Rye, the middle brother heard the voices and looked in the kitchen. His eyes lit up when he saw his baby brother. As true brothers tended to do, they could pick on one another all they wanted to, but if anyone else even thought about it, then there was a fight. "What brings you to town little brother?"

"Well I have news… is mom and Bram around?"

"I can call them. Mom is at home working on the books and Bram is upstairs… what's wrong?" asked .

"Call Bram, I'll tell mom later. You know how she is when you interrupt her when she is doing the books." The boys exchanged a look. They knew what it was to cross Mrs. Mellark. It was something you don't forget when she got mad. All 3 Mellark boys had the scars to prove it.

Once Bram was downstairs Peeta took a deep breath and said, "I have an opportunity to take over the Charlotte branch of the firm. I have to let them know by Monday. I know that it's still an hour and a half away, but I'd get to come home more…" grabbed his youngest in a hug. "Son that would be wonderful! Charlotte is a lot closer that Atlanta on any day!"

Rye and Bram offered congrats. Bram had married his high school sweetheart years ago and now had 2 Mellark boys of his own. Bram still worked in the bakery. He also worked part time at the high school where he was the wrestling coach. As his coach had helped him, he was helping his boys win state and regional titles. Rye had just proposed to his longtime girlfriend and they were getting married the next spring. He worked at the courthouse as a court reporter and would help out when he was needed at the bakery.

Bram slapped Peeta on the back. "I hate to cut this short but I've got to take Tyler to a birthday party. Hey you remember Gale Hawthorne?" He waited for Peeta to give him a nod. "He married Madge Undersee and they have a little boy who is turning 5. Tyler is so excited to go to the party. "

Peeta thought for a moment. He needed to talk to his mom about the move, but he knew that if she was working on the books, she would be in there all day. "Hey why don't I tag along? I'd love to see some of the old gang."

Bram, with is arm around his brother's shoulders led him out the back door as Rye and their father exchanged a look. As in all little towns, and District 12 was no different, there were rumors that circulated. Since Peeta had been gone, there were all kinds of rumors that were spoken. The 2 Mellark men exchanged a knowing look. They knew that if Peeta was going to a Hawthorne birthday party, Peeta, quite possibly was getting to come face to face with one of those rumors. And they knew that their lives were getting ready to change if the rumor was anywhere near true.


	3. Chapter 3

The party

Jack couldn't sit still. Mommy just couldn't get ready fast enough and though it was just 3 houses away, he is going to Daniel's birthday party. And it isn't just a birthday party; it's going to be a Spiderman birthday party. Auntie Madge even bought the cake at the bakery in the quarter across from the playground. If Jack had thought about it for a minute, he would have wondered why his mommy didn't take him into the bakery, but right now there is too much raw excitement going through him to think. Jack had even gone to the toy store to get Daniel's present. He had decided to get him the Spiderman blasters that shot real web out. He had decided to get that for him since Auntie Madge had made him a Superman cape for his birthday. In fact he wore it now. The only time it ever left his little shoulders is when he took a bath and if didn't let him wear it at school. But sometimes if he asked her just right, she would let him and Daniel wear their capes at school. That is when those silly girls would wear their princess dresses and those crown things that they would lose. Mommy said that he couldn't wear it at night anymore, especially after he had gotten himself tangled in it that first night and he had that really bad dream that something was holding him and wouldn't let him get to mommy. He didn't like to think about that.

"Jack where are you?" mommy calls for him.

"I'm here mommy. Aren't you ready yet? I won't get any cake if you don't hurry up!"

"Jack you know that Aunt Madge won't cut the cake until everyone is there. You know that. Now let's put our coats on and well go." Once they had wrestled into their coats and picked up Daniel's present, they were out the door.

Once they were outside and walking down the sidewalk Katniss starts looking at the cars and trucks to see who is already at the party. Still holding her hand she notices that Jack is pulling on her. She doesn't even remember stopping because she sees a truck that she hasn't seen in years. It's his truck sitting on the side of the street because there is the dent on the bumper that she put on it when she was backing Finn's boat into lake Rhodhiss and the same camo seat covers that she bought for him that last Christmas they were together.

She could feel the anxiety closing off her airway, she hadn't felt this way in a long time and she thought she was over it. But then again, it wasn't every day that she saw his truck. It was only because Jack was pulling on her hand that she even made it to Madge's front door. Right when jack drags her onto the porch, Madge comes running out. Reaching out to catch Katniss, "He came with Bram. He isn't even supposed to be in town! We all know that he hasn't been home since Christmas."

Looking back at the truck, she stops, picks up Jack and starts to turn away to run back home. While she is picking him up, Prim comes out, grabs a hold of her arm like she isn't going to let go and looks at her with tears in her eyes and says, "Katniss you can't leave now. You owe Jack a chance to meet him at least once."

Katniss looks into her little bear's eyes and she knows that she can either disappoint him or give him the one thing that he has been asking for since he knew what to ask for. She supposes that Gale could only be a substitute daddy for so long. Giving a big sigh and fighting the tears gathering in her own eyes, she wonders how her life got to this point. Setting Jack back on the porch, meeting Prim and Madge's gazes, she decides it's time to face the past that has been haunting her for the past 5 years. "Well I'm not really ready for this, but I knew that one day it would come. I just didn't think it would be at Daniel's birthday party."

Embracing her sister in a big hug, Prim whispers to her, "I'm not leaving your side unless you want me to."

Then here comes Madge giving her a hug too. Whispering to her too, "Somehow it will be ok. Have faith in that. Don't worry. We know he isn't going to grab Jack and do something like run out the door."

During the hugging, Katniss starts to cry. Wiping her tears and giving a little laugh, "He knows I would shoot him with my bow before he would make it too far."

Prim and Madge join in the laughter while Jack looks at them like they are silly mommies and an aunt Prim that they are. Then he notices mommy's tears. So he does what his little heart wants to do, and that is to give mommy a big, big hug. When he feels her arms going around him to return his hug, and mommy's kiss on his cheek, he knows that she will be ok. Wiggling to get away, he whispers, "Mommy I gotta go find Daniel…"

Going into the house where he spends as much time as he does at home, he loves how they have all of the party stuff out and ready to play. He walks through the living room and goes over to the cake table. His little mouth waters while looking at the Spiderman cake. Seeing his friends playing in the back yard, where Uncle Gale has set up all of the games that they had told him about, he runs to the backyard through the French doors.

By this time the ladies have made it into the house. They are just in time to see Jack admiring the cake and then running outside to where the boys and girls are running around and playing the games. Katniss watches Jack walk over to the balloon and dart game. Rory was there to help the boys to not throw the darts at one another. Prim turns to her to ask if she will be ok while she goes to see if Rory needs any helps. Nodding a yes that she will be alright, her eyes drift over the sea of faces there. Her heart feels like it stops when she sees him. The face who haunts her dreams every night. Sometimes they were good dreams, other times she helplessly would watch him walk away from her and Jack. It was then she would wake up screaming. She hates those nights. Those were the nights when her sweet boy would come running to mommy's bed to hold her. She hates that she worries about her like he does.

Watching the kids at the Hawthorne house run and play in the back yard brought back so many memories of his own childhood and playing with his brothers. How they would all run and play tag until someone would get hurt. Or how they would throw whatever to see who could throw the furthest. Then there were the wrestling matches that would involve everyone in the neighborhood.

He can feel her enter the room before he ever sees her. He didn't think that she still had that effect on him. He looks around the yard and there she was. Once when he was young she had been an obsession. In high school they had awkward friendship. Then when they were older she became a lover. She is the source of his biggest regret. He will always think of her as the one who got away. Meeting her eyes across the room, he sees something there that he has never seen before in her eyes. Was that fear? Could Katniss Everdeen be afraid of him?

It was then in that moment he notices a flash of blonde hair with a red cape run to Katniss. He wonders why Tyler would be running to her. He didn't think that his nephew knew Katniss. Then he hears the voice of the little boy when she bends to pick him up and he knows that it isn't Tyler at all. He keeps on watching, not able to take his eyes off the pair. For it was then that little boy turns and looks at him. He sees her silver eyes, but he could swear that it is a picture of him from when he was that age. It feels like the air has been sucked out of the room. He feels like he can't move. His eyes seek out Katniss's. She briefly met his eyes and then looked down to the little boy. It was then that he saw the sadness in her eyes. Could it be?

Before he has a chance to think about what is going on, Finnick Odair interrupts him when he comes up to him and slaps him on the back, "Dude what in the hell are you doing here?"

Looking at Finnick in frustration for stopping him from walking over to her, "I drove up to see the family and Bram and Tyler dragged me here. I've got to drive back to Atlanta tomorrow. The firm wants me to take over the office in Charlotte. How are you? How is the pool business?"

Finnick Odair is the pool guy of the town. He had bought out his father when he wanted to retire and sell it. He and Annie had gotten married two years ago and was living their happily ever after. Finnick sees the direction Peeta had been going. Lowering his voice, Peeta hears with bewilderment at the concern he hears there. "Man I'm glad that you're here. But before you say too much, take a minute to listen to what she has to say. A 5 year olds birthday party is not the place to do it. See if she will meet you later. Ok?"

As Finn's words sunk in, Peeta's stomach twists even more. He nods as he pats Finn on the back. "At least let me go say hello. I'll catch up with you in a little bit, ok?"

Finn nods. "Just remember, we were all kids back then. Don't think about how everything turned out. think about the future instead."

Peeta turns and looks at Finn and realizes that he knows something. What in the hell is everyone keeping from him? What is going on? Why has no one told him?

Katniss starts to shake and it feels like all of the air has been sucked out of the room because she can't breathe at all, when she sees that Peeta is on the way to see her. By the time he had reaches her she is shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.

One thing hasn't changed in all these years and that is his ability to make her feel like she is the most beautiful woman in the room. Even now she can feel his gaze taking her in like a dry man in the desert who has been out there for entirely too long. Oh how she misses everything about him, his touches, his kisses, his touch but she can't think that way; she doesn't belong to him anymore. so when He comes to stand by her and says, "Hello Katniss. You are looking good. How are you?" she is a jumbled mess of nerves.

She slowly lets out the breath that she has been holding. She gives him a glance before looking outside at the boys running after each other. "I'm doing ok. How are you?'

Peeta's eyes follow her line of sight. Watching the boys running, he sees the blonde head of his nephew Tyler and the other blonde who he thought was Tyler. Trying to keep his breathing even and his heart beat steady, as if he is a hunter trying not to startle the mockingjay that he was been hunting for as if she was the holy grail. "It's good to see you. That much I know is true." Reaching out and touching her arm, he touches her to ground himself to make sure she is real, and he wants to let her know that what he is going to say, he is not saying it to hurt her. "Is there any way that we can meet later and talk? I would love to catch up."

Katniss knew this moment was coming. She was foolish to think that she could put it off any longer. Maybe she should have pushed harder when she really needed to talk to him instead of letting others make the decisions for her. "Ok. Do you remember where my parent's old house is? It's just right up the street?" Peeta nodded. How could he forget? He made friends with the Hawthorne's just so he could walk by it on the way to their house. "Come by tonight. Around 8?"

"Ok." He nods "I'll see you later" Peeta takes another deep breath like he wants to say something else, but instead looks at her like a sad puppy, with a sad smile and walks away.

In the next moment Prim was by her side. "Sorry sis, I was helping Rory get the darts away from the boys. Are you ok?"

Taking a calming breath she mentally checks herself. "I think so."

"Did he see Jack?" Prim asked

"Yes," Katniss sighed. "He did. I don't think Jack saw him. Not that he would know who he would be looking for anyway."

"What's going to happen now?"

"Well he asked if we could talk and I said that he could come over at 8."

Prim drew a sharp breath. "Are you ok? Are you ready for this?"

"I really don't know Prim. I do know that Jack is. And you can't deny him anything just like I can't. And he wants to know his father. I just hope that Peeta doesn't reject him again. He can break my heart, but when it comes to jack, I'll shoot him in the woods before I let that happen."

"Somehow I don't think Peeta Mellark would ever reject his son. I still don't understand what happened years ago when you first tried to talk to him…"

"Prim, we will talk about this later," Katniss said as Jack came running to her again.

"Mommy," as soon as Peeta heard that his head shot up and looked in their direction. He watches them interact as the young man dragged Katniss across the room to where Madge is setting up to let her son open presents. "Daniel is opening his presents. Come and watch and then Auntie Madge said we can eat the Spiderman cake. Come on mama!"

**Look at what that sweet old Easter Bunny brought for you today. He dropped it off last night. **

**I know that peeta's reaction might be what you were expecting, and it might not. The hubs actually helped me a lot on this chapter. I think I drove him a little crazy when I kept on asking him if this or that is how a guy would react to this situation. so thank you hubs! Also a big thank you to nonnie_mouse and jane for reading and sohypothetically for being so encouraging. **


	4. Chapter 4

It is around 3:00 when they arrive home. Jack is so tired that he goes straight up to his room. After about 10 minutes of waiting for him to come back down stairs, Katniss goes upstairs to check on him and there she finds him sound asleep in his reading corner surrounded by all of his stuffed animals and pillows. She walks over to pull his blanket from the bed and covers him up with it.

Jack's reading area is inside of a canopy they made last year. The fabric covering it is a rich maroon that she had gotten from one of her suppliers at her store. Then she had gotten PVC pipe and fit them together in a square tent like shape. This is his favorite part of the room. Its here he keeps his pictures that he draws. He has taped some of them to the wall, others he has put into his desk. There is a secret place in the desk that her father had showed her when she was little. In it she had put her secret things that she had when she was little, now it was Jack's turn. She watches him while he sleeps. She remembers bringing him home from the hospital. He was so tiny, but not really for he was 9 lbs. when he was born. But he was tiny to her, and she had been afraid to put him down. It was only until recently that Jack started sleeping in his bed and not in hers. He still looks like the baby she had brought home and it's amazing her how much he has grown up too.

Sitting beside him on one of his pillows, she runs her fingers through his curls, the ones that she loves to play with and thanks God for giving him to her. This little boy is her heart. Seeing Peeta today at Gale's upset her because he was unexpected. But it is good to see him; she just doesn't want to admit it. Katniss is also shocked at how burned out he looks. The last time she saw Graham he didn't say anything about Peeta but then again, he hasn't seen him since almost a year ago. If she knows Peeta at all, he isn't going to come out and say anything like that either. Once upon a time he would have told her something like that, but not now. And now he is coming over this evening to meet Jack. Not wanting to think about what might happen after a while; she scoots down beside Jack and closes her eyes for just a minute too.

Graham Mellark is working the counter at the bakery when he sees Bram's truck pull around to the back parking lot. He remembers that Bram had said that they couldn't stay long at the party because Tyler has swimming practice after while. Just when he is starting to wonder where Peeta is, he hears the bell chime for the back door. A small smile comes to his lips as he continues bagging Mrs. Norton and Mrs. Banks orders of bread for their family dinner that happens after church. Bidding the ladies goodbye and that he will see them on Tuesday; he turns to walk into the kitchen.

Graham stands in the doorway watching Peeta pace around the ovens like he did when he was little and something was bothering him. His hair is even standing up from where he is running his fingers through it and pulling on it. By looking at him, he can guess what happened. "How was the party?"

"Dad, when was the last time you saw Katniss Everdeen?" even though Peeta is a man now, he can hear the scared little boy who would come to him for comfort when there was a storm.

"I see her every once in a while at the grocer, and here and there. But that's about it. She opened up a new outfitter store for the tourist. Why are you asking?" he says carefully.

"Dad do you ever see her with a little boy?" Graham can see the disappointment on Peeta's face when he asks that question instead of the question he really wants to ask.

How he has prayed for this day to come. He also knows that he has to choose his words carefully. "Yes in fact I have. You know how people gossip in this town. I never paid it any attention. Now your mother on the other hand…"

Peeta interrupts, "What does mother have to do with this?"

"Son it was a long time ago…."

"Just tell me what happened. And why in the hell am I just now hearing about any of this?"

"After you graduated from District, after you had already left for Atlanta. Your mother said she came to us wanting to get in touch with you because she needed to talk to you. That was after you had broken up; remember you had changed your phone and email? Well your mother took that as a sign that you didn't want to see Katniss again. So she told Katniss that you didn't want to see her and to not ever come back. And she didn't. But I've seen her in town and out and about. That's her son."

"Why has no one ever told me any of this?" Peeta shouts almost in tears. "Dad have you not seen the boy?"

Reaching out to grab Peeta, he holds his arms and looks into his eyes, takes a deep breath and says, "I have. I know how you feel about Katniss. And yes I have seen the boy. He looks like you did when you were 4."

Letting his dad pull him into a hug and letting him comfort him, Peeta whispers to him, "Well I'm going over there tonight to talk to them hopefully I can get some of this figured out."

7:00 pm

Katniss stands at the sink washing the supper dishes. Her Superman comes zooming through the kitchen making the loop as she called it. If you walk, or run as Jack does, through the kitchen, into the living room and then into the dining room it leads into the kitchen again. This is what Jack does when he is fighting sleep. As Katniss put the last dish into the dish washer, she turns and catches her Superman. Jack gives her a halfhearted protest and a giggle. She kisses his forehead, "It's time for Superman's bath."

"But mommy, I'm not tired," he said as he yawns.

"Yes you are. Besides someone is coming at 8, and I need for you to be done by then. And remember, you are going back to Daniel's house to spend the night."

"I know mommy! You told me after I woke up from nap. Who is coming mommy?"

"Oh just one of my old friends from school."

"Is it Finn and ?" he asks hopefully.

"No. Come on. Let's hurry. Up the stairs you go!"

She lets him play for just a minute or two, and then she helps him wash and dry off. By the time he has his favorite pair of Superman pj's and of course his cape on she hears the doorbell ring. Jack perks up at this point. "They are here mommy!" and takes off running down the stairs.

"Don't you dare open that door until I get there young man!"

When she gets to the bottom of the stairs she sees Jack waiting there. At least for once he decides to listen to her.

She ruffles his still damp hair while she walks to the door. She looks back at her son, and takes a deep breath and opens the door…

**Now what?! **

**I just wanted to thank everyone. Thank you to the ones who have been reading this little project of mine. I love Jack. He is a combination of all of the little children I have met over the years. Thank you to the ones who are following and have added me to your favorite list. I was reading for a year before I started writing, and so I know that if you follow or favorite a story you want more and to come back and read it again. I'm so glad that something got your attention. Thank you to the hubs for helping me and listening to me read it to him and for pestering him when I ask him one more time, are you sure this is how a guy would act? And for not being afraid to tell me how he feels. And thank you to sohypothecially for being so sweet and nice and wonderful and letting me bug her… thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well here is the chapter that hopefully will start to answer everyone's questions. I know that it's going to open up even more. I can promise you, there will be more back story! I will not leave you hanging because if I did there are a couple of people who would come after me. I have also been asked about this Katniss. She is near and dear to me, for the simple reason she is made up of several ladies who I love. Some would call them stand-offish, but to me they are my friends and family. They all have one thing in common. They start off as friends, then when they love you, you are family. But then you if betray that trust, they are "done with you." And they will tell you that too. They will have nothing else to do with you. Some of you may call that extreme, but not for these ladies. That is how many of them survive. I hope this little note will give you more insight. If you think back to the book (that we all love if not we wouldn't be doing this.) Katniss is very stubborn. I know that there were times when I just wanted to shake her, but she also loved fiercely. She volunteered for Prim when she was reaped, she wanted to protect the Hawthornes no matter the cost, she wanted to die so Peeta could live. I just hope that my Katniss comes across this way when it comes to Jack. She is a mama bear in that she will do anything to protect her young. Including keeping them from their father if she thinks he will hurt them. So thank you again for reading… it is a much longer chapter this time! but thank you. **

**And a thank you to the usual suspects… sohypotheically you rock my dear! Thank you so much for everything. I know you don't have to do this, but I'm so glad that you do! Janeeyre and nonnie, thank you for reading. **

It all starts on the first day of kindergarten. He isn't nervous; Bram and Rye talk so much about school he is excited to go. Besides it gets him away from mother. He will miss spending the time in the bakery with Daddy. His daddy is his favorite person in his whole wide world.

As they approach the school, his brothers walk ahead into the school to their classes. Also up ahead, Peeta can see a little girl wearing a red, plaid dress holding her mommy's hand. She has two braids and is skipping beside her mommy. Her mommy is also holding a baby on her hip. The baby looks back at them and gives a chuckle and a toothy grin with baby drool landing on her mama's shoulder. He feels daddy pull back on his hand and bend down to his level. "Peeta, see the woman in front of us?" After Peeta nods, "I almost married her. When I was getting ready to ask her, she broke up with me and married Jack Everdeen instead."

"But Daddy, who wouldn't want to be married to you?" his Daddy is so kind, the center of his little heart, who sneaks cookies to his boys and a mother who leaves bruises when she hits you. After that she would she would disappear for the rest of the day.

Graham chuckles. "It's alright son. What has happened is in the past. I've gotten the best part of any deal when I got you and your brothers. And that's all I ever needed." Somehow, though he doesn't understand his father's words completely, they bring a peace to him that will be a balm to his heart In the tough times.

They walk behind the Everdeen's into the school. They turn to go to the kindergarten part of the school when turns she sees Graham and Peeta following them into the classroom. "Hello Graham." Looking down at Peeta, she says, "You must be Peeta."

Peeta's eyes get big. He didn't expect her to talk to him too. He sticks out his little hand like his daddy does when he met new customers in the bakery. "Yes ma'am." he says as he shakes her hand. She then turns to the girl in the plaid dress and says, "Katniss come meet Peeta."

When Katniss turns around, he is awed by the silver of her eyes. And he thinks that he has never seen anyone as pretty as her before. "I'm Katniss." When he hears her say her name he knows in that moment that he is lost for forever.

It is later in their little music class when the teacher asks if anyone knows the valley song and her little hand goes straight up. when she sings, it is then he gives her the rest of the his heart.

It is a bad season for many of them in their small town that winter. The winds blow too hard for that town that wasn't used to it ever being that cold, so there were a lot of power outages. Jack Everdeen works as a lineman for Duke Power. He is on call that night when the town's main transformer blows up at three a.m. He kisses his wife, who wakes up to pour his coffee into his thermos. Then he kisses Katniss who is eleven and kisses Prim who is seven. Unfortunately for the Everdeen family that night, Jack climbs to the top of the power pole to reattach the line and is knocked off. The coroner said he was dead before he hit the ground.

Jack's old hunting buddy, Haymitch and his other best friend, Cole Hawthorne step in to help Lily. When the power company settles with the lawyer Haymitch hired, there is a monthly check coming in, and a college fund for the girls. That still didn't help Lily's deep depression. Thankfully, Haymitch is there once again to help. He has Lily checked into a clinic that specializes in that type of depression, with Duke Power paying that bill. He moves in with the girls and with Hazette's help, keeps what is left of the Everdeen household running until Lily comes home.

Peeta talks to Katniss more and more in his own way of helping her. He sits beside her at lunch so he can share his cookies and cheese buns with her. It's during this time when they become best friends. She shines as radiant as the sun to him and he is her rock, her new hope that things will be ok again, That somehow Mama will be back and grumpy Haymitch will go back home.

As in small towns, you are more often than not in the same classes with the same people for the thirteen years you attend school. So by the time you graduate, you either love those people, or you can't wait to get away from them. As for Katniss and Peeta's little group of friends, they are a tight bunch. So when it is time for prom and for them to start to go their separate ways, Peeta just knows that if nothing else, he wants to take Katniss to prom. By this time that she is more comfortable in the woods than in a gown. She has won the state archery contests now for three years in a row. He is shocked when he asks her and she agrees. After the fancy dinner at the fancy restaurant in the next town, for their little town has Sae's diner and that was it besides the fast food restaurants that are in every town. And then after the dance in the school's gymnasium they find themselves down by the river, sitting on a blanket that his father told him to keep in his truck for emergencies, looking at the stars and listening to the river babble at them as they talk about going to college, yes they would be going to the same school, the local state university in their little town. Their plans for the future, he is going to major in art and see where that took him even though he really wants to run the bakery but Bram's decided that he wants it after all. She still isn't sure what she is going to do. She has heard once, "Do what you love and then figure out how to get paid for it." Well what she loves is her woods, her trees. Now if she could stay in them all day and make a living, well that would be just fine with her. She talks about the memories she has of her dad talking about opening a store and offering camping trips to the tourists, but isn't sure how to start that dream. Before they know it, they have both drifted off to sleep by that river bank. His little boy dreams of finally being able to hold her come true as they snuggle together while the dew falls.

They wake up before dawn shivering as soon as they separate since they don't have the warmth from one another. they run to the truck Already missing each other though neither would admit it. After celebrating their graduation and then enjoying the summer break, they find themselves hanging out more and more. In their little town, there are only so many things the kids can do. One of those is to meet in town and sit and talk. Gale would come by, especially if he knew Madge was going to be with Katniss. Peeta would stop, especially if he knew that Katniss was going to be there. Finn and Johanna and Annie would stop when they would see everyone else. Peeta's brothers would even be seen with the group on occasion.

They would have fun on these evenings. Sometimes the group would end up at Finn's. His father, since he is the town pool man, he had the biggest house and the biggest pool. So it becomes a tradition that if you are not working you would be in the Odair's pool by one. Since it is the hottest summer in years, everyone is in the pool. Even Prim tags along and quickly became everyone's favorite baby sister.

As fall approaches everyone gets ready for the next stage in life. Katniss and Peeta are just going to District University, that way he could still work at the bakery and she could save money by living at home. Madge is going to District too since she isn't ready to leave home. Gale has been out of school for a couple of years and has just finished with his criminal justice degree. He has applied for several job openings at the police department and is waiting for an interview but meanwhile is also working at the body shop his dad owns. Finn is, of course, already working for his dad in the pool business and Annie is going to District too for her degree in teaching. Johanna is getting ready to go back to State so she can start graduate school.

Katniss and Peeta continue their easy friendship through college. Katniss even thinks of him as her best friend. After all, it is always Peeta who meets her at the library so they can study together. It is Peeta who holds her when Thom breaks up with her. She is there for him when Lavinia dumps him (well not really dumps him. she found out about his love for a Miss. Everdeen and she isn't going to stand in between him and his one true love. He doesn't tell Katniss this part. He enjoys the pity she gives him for the heartbreak she thinks he went through.) before finals sophomore year. But it's junior year when everything begins to change. He switches majors to more of an art/business degree and Katniss is still majoring in business, so they have a lot more classes together. But it's at the Undersee's annual Christmas party that Madge invites her friends to when Katniss and Peeta find themselves under the mistletoe. It's there in a door way where they have their first kiss. For Peeta it's the most wonderful of Christmas presents, for Katniss it stirs up feelings that she has been trying to ignore.

They exchange presents later that evening. Peeta gives her his grandmother's pearl necklace, the one that his grandpa gave to her when they married. Katniss is surprised for she knows how much it means to him because it's the only thing he inherited when she died. She gives him a new set of brushes and paints that he has been wanting. She figures that he needs them to remember his passion while studying business. As they walk home that night, Katniss shyly holds his hand and his heart soars. His heart is still soaring from the kiss they shared earlier. When they get to her door, this time she grabs his coat and presses her lips to his.

Peeta dares to hope that she is starting to feel something for him. After her kiss leaves him breathless, he rests his forehead against hers and says, "Are we still on for the movies tomorrow?" the next day is Christmas and they have a tradition where after they spend the day with their families, they meet and go to the movies.

They go to the movies, but it isn't until New Year's, when they are at Madge's New Year's party and share a bottle of Grey Goose that they find themselves in the place that both of them have dreamed about for years. Everyone else is passed out or has already gone home, when they share Madge's guest bedroom. At first they are just going to sleep. Peeta kisses her goodnight, and gathers her in his arms content just to hold her. It's Katniss who pulls him back to her. Sloppy wet kisses, then hands are everywhere. Katniss feels like she is in one of her dreams. And if she is, she doesn't want it to ever stop. Soon their clothes are on the floor and he is on top of her asking if this is alright. She is never one for a lot of words so her answer is more kisses as she pulls him into her. Afterwards Peeta can't stop kissing her as he tells her how much he loves her and how he has always loved her, and, if she would let him, he will spend the rest of his life showing her. Katniss is speechless after she listens to him, she answers by her wrapping her body around him and shyly tells him of her love for him.

After that, the rest of their junior year is spent in a daze. They still manage to pass their courses and even make dean's list. Once the summer comes, Peeta starts talking more and more about when school is finished. Katniss starts to make extra money by offering hiking tours. By the end of July, she has a waiting list of groups wanting her help.

That summer is also the summer that Gale and Madge get married. No longer content to wait till Madge is finished with college, they wake up their friends up on Friday morning with plans to go to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to elope. So Katniss borrows one of Prim's dresses, Peeta changes into his khaki's, and they drive to Tennessee. Watching the simple ceremony Katniss and Peeta both can't help themselves when their thoughts go to their own possible wedding.

Their senior year starts. Since they are both business majors they have almost all their classes together. That first semester is about perfect. They both still live at home, but Lily works the night shift at the hospital now. So it's usually her and Prim alone at night in their house, so Peeta starts spending the night more and more. By this time Katniss is 23 and so is Peeta, doesn't say too much to them since she knows they are trying to save money still. As Christmas approaches, Peeta takes Finn with him to go ring shopping. It is Annie who on December 23 accidently lets it slip that Finn went to the jeweler's with Peeta. All Katniss can do is smile for she knows in her heart that he is the one she is meant to be with. Surprising herself, she is very happy about that.

So on Christmas day after eating lunch with her mother, Katniss, Peeta and Prim all go to the Mellark's for dinner. Katniss is wondering when Peeta is going to ask her the question. After Rue comes to pick up Prim, Peeta says that there is somewhere they have to be. They get in his truck and drive out to the riverbank where they had spent their prom night. It is there on a blanket of fresh snow, and candles everywhere, Peeta drops onto one knee and tells her once again how much he loves her. After she cries and hugs him, she agrees to be the new Mrs. Mellark. Then they make their way back to her house, because it's empty for Prim is gone to Rue's to spend the night and Mrs. Everdeen is working.

As spring blooms all around them, Katniss can feel herself falling more and more in love. They study for their finals for the last time, they talking about wedding plans and business plans. Katniss is still giving hiking tours in her woods. And Peeta is certain he could make an advertising degree work in their small town or even get his teaching certificate and take a teaching job in the next town over. It happens right after Easter that year. Even though Katniss is on the pill, they make Jack.

Katniss doesn't at first realize that she is pregnant. She thinks at first she has the flu. Then she doesn't think it was a missed period because she still spotted. But it is right after that everything changes. They break up. She still isn't exactly sure what happens, but there is a new girl in one of his art classes and a group of them are studying one evening for an art exam and he never comes over after that like he was going to. That doesn't bother Katniss. Well it does a little bit. But other than that he is still in her bed every night. But then in the next two weeks that Glimmer bitch walks up to Peeta in the commons area and tells Peeta that she is pregnant and it's his… Katniss turns and walks away from him. Even by the time he catches up with her, rebellious tears that won't listen to her are falling down her face. So she just shakes her head at him, and gets into her car and drives off. Its later that night when he comes over with tears in his own eyes, she wordlessly walks to her bedroom. At first he seems relieved that she is going to talk to him until she hands him all of his stuff he has left over there. She even gives him the pearl necklace back and her engagement ring. She then turns and walks to her front door. He can't help but to follow her as his heart sinks when he realizes that she isn't going to say anything at all to him. When he steps through the doorway and turns to face her, with tears running down her face, she just simply shakes her head at him and shuts the door.

It isn't until the next month that she realizes that she doesn't have the flu. But in fact she is pregnant as she watches the test turn to positive. Don't panic, don't panic she tells herself as she can feel the anxiety shutting off her airway so she can't breathe. When she calls her OB to make a pregnant mom appointment she decides to give Peeta one chance to be a father. She knows that he wants kids, a house full he would always promise her when they were talking about the future.

About this time it is getting close to graduation and she hasn't spoken to Peeta in over a month. She sees him in the classes they have together a couple of times, but since she has been dealing with a bad case of morning sickness, her OB wrote her a note so she could miss her final classes when she needs to. This is a blessing in disguise because she doesn't have to see Peeta. Madge comes over one day to see how she is feeling. Deciding to finally tell someone besides Prim, Katniss tells her everything that has happened. Including that she is pregnant. Madge throws her arms around her in a hug and tells her that she won't be going through it alone, that she is pregnant too.

Katniss is actually still too sick to even think about walking at graduation. Besides, she still isn't sure how she feels about Peeta right now. She still loves him and she probably always will. She wants her baby to know its daddy. But she also isn't going to deal with another baby mama.

One day when she is feeling particularly down, she decides to call him. When it goes straight to the recording that the number is no longer in service, she thinks, 'when he change his number? He's had the same number for years why would he change it now?' It is with a sinking heart that she realizes that it is because of her. That explains the sent emails that were never answered.

She almost doesn't go to the bakery that day but she promises herself that she would try one more time to give her baby the father it deserves. It's his mother who is working that day and when she sees her behind the counter she should have turned around and left. She knows that his mother has never liked her and the handful of times she has been to their house; she would give her those looks and make snarky comments towards Katniss. So Prim who thankfully goes with her, grabs her sister's hand and leads her right up to the counter where Mrs. Mellark stands waiting for them like a vulture who wants to gobble them up like the trash she thinks they are.

"Is Peeta here Mrs. Mellark?" says Katniss with false bravery.

"No he's not and why would he want to see you?" snarls Mrs. Mellark.

Prim gives her a squeeze and speaks up bravely, "Katniss needs to speak to him. Could you please tell Peeta to call her?" she says in a moment of bravery that gives Katniss a peek into the young woman she is becoming. It is this bravery that will hold Katniss together while being a single parent in the coming years.

Mrs. Mellark sarcastically says, "Sure. I'll tell him to call you." Unknown to Katniss Peeta had 'lost his cell' but really Mrs. Mellark smashed it with a hammer then presented her son with a new cell with a new number the next day. She has never liked Katniss and knows what Peeta did which resulted in the break up. She is going to use this opportunity to get Katniss once and for all out of Peeta's life. He has gotten the internship at the firm in Atlanta and she knows that if he talks to Katniss, he will never leave. She just didn't spend all of their savings to send him to college for him to waste it in this backwards town.

She never tells Peeta that Katniss came by. His heart is broken. He still can't believe what he did to Katniss. She is all he ever wanted and hoped for and he screwed it up. She deserves so much better than him. He just hopes that one day she can find it.

Graduation day comes. He looks and looks for her in the class and he never finds her. He does see Madge and walks up to her. "Hey Madge. Where's Katniss?"

"Ohhh Peeta. She decided not to walk. She went and picked up her diploma yesterday."

His heart falls. He was hoping for just one more chance to see her before he leaves for Atlanta in a week. Glimmer had told him that she wasn't pregnant and is going to California to move in with her aunt. He just wanted one chance to tell her that he is sorry and that he loves her. So he tells Madge, "Well I'm moving to Atlanta next week. Tell Katniss that I love her and that I'm sorry for everything."

Madge's heart goes out to him. "When are you leaving?"

"Next Monday I think. I'm supposed to start work the next week."

"You need to talk to Katniss before you leave. You really do need to try."

Peeta nods. "I'll try Madge. She probably hates me. I don't want to talk to me either. "

"Just promise me that you will try. Please Peeta." by now Gale finds them. He gives Peeta a look that he doesn't understand. He just doesn't realize that Madge has to hold Gale back from going after Peeta right there. All Gale understands is that his best friend is hurting and it is because of this prick in front of him.

Peeta walks away from them as Gale leans down to say, "What did he want?"

Peeta never does make to Katniss's house. His family keeps him busy with packing his room and moving him to Atlanta. He does leave a note on her door after he goes by one afternoon to find her house empty. In fact Katniss and Prim and Madge are at the OB's finding out that Jack is a boy and not the girl that Prim wants. When Katniss makes it back home that day, and finds his note,

Katniss,

I'm so sorry for the pain and heartbreak that I have caused you. I still don't know why I did what I did. I ruined us. I broke us. And I broke you and for that, I will be sorry for the rest of my life. I have thrown away the best thing that has ever happened to me. You don't deserve me. I hope that you can build your business like you want to and that you will have everything that you ever want and need in this lifetime. I'm just sorry that I won't be there to watch you achieve your dreams. I love you. And I always will. But I don't know how to fix this. I don't even know if I can.

I'm leaving town. I have accepted an internship in Atlanta. It's for an advertising firm there. If you ever need me, if you ever need me, my parents know where to find me.

I love you,

Peeta

So Katniss after reading the letter, goes in, and collapses on her bed and cries. She cries for the boy who will never know his father, she cries for the father who will never know his son and most of all she cries for her broken heart.

**There will be more I promise…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you dear readers! I know that someone is reading, and I am so glad that you are. I hope this chapter answers a lot of your questions. **

**I also need to thank sohypothetically for taking the time out of her busy schedule for helping me. I owe you so much! And the hubs for encouraging me, jojo for helping me scheme and nonnie_mouse and janeeyre for reading. **

With her hand on the knob and another look back to Jack who is watching her from the bottom step, she opens the door. Peeta stands there with his hair sticking straight up just like it used to when he would run his fingers through it when he was nervous. Glancing to his eyes and quickly looking away, she motions for him to come in.

She sees Peeta turn his head towards Jack and then turn to look at her. Stepping around him to stand in between him and Jack, she bites her lip, takes a deep breath, and says, "Peeta this is my son Jack. "She looks from Peeta to Jack. Keeping her eyes on the boy, she says, "Jack, this is my old friend, Peeta."

"So are we friends after all?" he says behind her low enough so Jack can't hear.

She narrows her eyes when she turns to look at him. "Yes Peeta. It's you who didn't keep in touch with me."

Instead of saying something back, Peeta turns to observe Jack. She wonders what he is thinking as he looks at him. Does he notice the wavy, light blonde hair and how it curls just like his? Does he notice Jack's nose and how the slight bump is the same as his? Does he notice the shape of his eyes and how, except for the color, they are just like his?

Clearing his throat, Peeta says, "Hello there Jack. I like your cape."

Jack smiles and plays with the edge of his cape.

Peeta turns and hands her a white, paper bag with Mellark's Bakery on it. "I brought you some cheese buns and cookies that Dad said Jack might like."

Katniss takes the bag with a soft, "Thank you." and walks to the kitchen island. She makes her way over to the couch and motions for Peeta and Jack to join her.

Peeta sits beside them as she looks up to meet his eyes. She is surprised when his eyes narrow at them as if he is trying to figure something out. About then she is relieved when there is a knocking at her front door.

Giving Jack a gentle push so he can go answer it, she quickly crosses the room in time to greet Gale. "Jack, why don't you run and get your bag so you can go with Uncle Gale." Jack giggles with excitement and quickly runs up stairs to his room.

Gale gives her one of his 'we need to talk' looks. Reaching out his hand to Peeta, "Thanks for coming to Daniel's party today. How long are you in town for?"

"I'm going back to Atlanta tomorrow. I suppose you have been helping Katniss all this time with Jack?"

Katniss cuts her eyes at Peeta as Peeta smirks at the both of them and Gale looks like he is trying to figure out how to take what Peeta just said. "Peeta," Gale says with his 'cop voice', "I don't know what you are thinking, but whatever it is, that isn't what is happening."

Jack runs back into the room and heads straight to Gale and wraps himself around his legs in a bear hug. Gale picks him up and rewards him with a big hug back.

"Uncle Gale, who is that man?" Jack whispers. But as 4 year olds whisper, everyone hears them.

"Someone who your mommy needs to talk to. Let's go see what Daniel is doing ok? He wants to play with you with all of his presents he got today. Kiss Mommy and let's go." Jack gives Katniss a big hug and gives Peeta a look. Katniss looks at Gale and mouths, "Thank you." as they walk out the door. She reaches up and grabs the end of her braid. As she slowly turns to Peeta more nervous that she has been in years. What she sees when she looks in his eyes surprises her. There is only one other time she has seen him this angry and that was the one Christmas when his mother was being particularly nasty to her and to Rye's girlfriend.

"How old is he?" he says through gritted teeth.

"His birthday is January 9. He'll be 5 this January." She crosses the room nervously to put some distance between them to sit in her rocking chair by the window.

"Is he mine?" he asks, making her feel like one of the rabbits she likes to hunt in the fall.

Katniss looks everywhere but at him as she tries to calm her out-of-control heart, "Yes. We conceived him around Easter of our senior year."

"Why didn't you tell me, Katniss?" his voice breaks with anger or pain.

She turns to look at him then and she sees anger but also a longing and a sadness that she knows too well. With a steady voice, "I tried. I called; it said that your number was no longer in service. I went by the bakery…"

He cries, "Dad mentioned for the first time today that you came by."

"Your Mom was there. She said that she would tell you to call me. But you never did." She can feel herself going from nervous and scared to angry the more he talks.

"I never got that message. I thought after what happened you wouldn't ever want to see me again. Mother never said you came by. Is he why you wasn't at graduation? "

"Yes. I didn't walk because I had really bad morning sickness and literally couldn't get out of the bed. Besides after not being able to get in touch with you, I didn't want to see you. I was trying to get over you and to take care of Jack."

"I can't believe it. I have a son." Peeta says with disbelief and anger in his voice.

Peeta…

When Peeta Mellark thinks about Katniss Everdeen, there are several images that go through his mind. Playing tag with her on the playground, watching her walk home with her sister after school, watching the sway of her hips in jeans as she made her way down the hall of their high school, finally getting to kiss her for the first time, making love to her in her bedroom, asking her to marry him. But the one image that hurts, the one image that kills him a little more each and every day is Katniss giving him back the ring that he had promised her forever with.

Standing in her living room now, after all these years, watching that little boy being carried away by Gale Hawthorne of all people, everything that he has worked so hard for the past four years comes crashing down, and it comes crashing down hard. He has to get some space so he walks over to the big picture window that overlooks her back yard. Looking out but not really seeing anything, as the shadows of the evening go across the yard, he takes some deep breaths to try to calm down his racing heart.

"Katniss," he chokes out, "Help me to understand. Please."

Taking a deep breath she says with increasing agitation, "What is there to understand Peeta? We were engaged, you fucked around, got me pregnant while you were at it, we broke up, and then you left. When I tried to tell you, you couldn't even come to see what I needed before you left. I thought you didn't love me anymore. And I wasn't going to let my child grow up thinking that his daddy didn't want him."

"How could I have even tried if I never knew about him? You didn't try hard enough to tell me. I thought you didn't want _me_. And then I come here and my son acts like he belongs to Gale Hawthorne of all people! I thought Gale was with Madge!"

"He is with Madge you asshat! You come in here acting all high and mighty," she steps closer to him as she points her finger at him, "You can't come into my house and talk to me that way. I thought we were going to talk about Jack, not your hurt pride and other bullshit like that. If you can't act like a gentleman then get out. If you can calm your happy ass down, then maybe we can talk for a damn minute." Katniss takes a deep breath before she continues, "What is it going to be?"

Peeta takes another deep breath to calm down. It's in that moment he realizes how beautiful she has become. Fighting the anger and the want that overtakes him so fiercely, he tries to focus on what she is saying instead of how she looks. He growls in response to how she is making him feel and says, "I apologize. Let's talk like normal people then. I had enough screaming from mother over the years that I really don't need it from you."

Crossing her arms in front of her, she huffs, "Let's talk then."

He knows that he needs to calm himself down even though he wants to beat someone up, beg Katniss on hands and knees to give him a second chance, and sit in a corner and cry over everything he has missed in his life all at the same time, he says, "Katniss something as big as a baby; why didn't you try harder to tell me? I would have done everything to help you so you wouldn't have to do it alone. If only I would have known…"

Interrupting him with anger in her eyes, "You would have what Peeta? You would have saved us? We would have been a family? You don't know what I've been through. You don't know! You don't know what it's like to have the town gossips talk about you wondering who your baby's daddy is. You don't know what it was like to have to be in the hospital for a week because you couldn't eat or even drink, the whole time thinking you are going to lose your baby. You don't know what it's like to be a single parent. You don't know what it's like to try to explain why other kids have their daddies but he doesn't have one. You don't know what it was like when he was just a baby and I couldn't find anyone to watch him so I could work. I had to put him literally on my back so I could work because I didn't want to have to go reapply for food stamps or WIC. Yes Peeta, Jackson Peeta Everdeen is your son. But more than that, he is mine. And you will not take him away from me."

"I'm not here to take him away from you. Damn it Katniss! I just learned that I had him."

"Do you think you can just walk in here and we become a happy little family? You were gone. Do you know how scared I was? I had to go through 38 weeks of pregnancy with only Madge and Prim helping me. I was in the grocery store when my water broke. I was alone; Prim was in school and Mom lived in Charlotte then. Can you imagine how afraid I was? If it hadn't been for Graham…"

"My Dad?" He wonders what his Dad has to do with this.

"Yes Peeta, your dad. I ran into him at the store, and while we were chatting, my water broke. He is the one who took me to the hospital."

His thoughts race as this information sinks in. His father knew? For 4 years, his father knew about Jack, but didn't say anything? "What do you mean Dad was there? Why did he never tell me about any of this?"

"He didn't tell you because I asked him not to. All I knew was that you cheated, Glimmer was going to have your baby too, and then you left town. I left you a message to come by. I wasn't ready for you to know. I'm still not sure if I'm ready for you to know."

Peeta looks at the playhouse that he can make out in the shadows the sinking sun casts across the yard. Taking a deep breath, he tries to gather his thoughts. What he wants more than anything is to turn back the clock. Oh, what he wouldn't give for the chance to go back to that night that ruined everything. But since he can't, he needs to figure this out now, before he really does lose everything. "Well I do know. And I'm not going to take him away from you. But I would like to get to know him. He seems like an awesome little man. Can I do that? Will you let me?"

Walking over to join him at the window she follows his gaze, "That's his clubhouse. Gale and Rory helped me put it together for his birthday this year. It was so cold that day, but he was so excited. Once we got it together, I had to take a heater out there so he and Daniel could play." She is quiet for a moment and he starts to ask her something when she says quietly, "He asks about you. All he has ever wanted is to meet his daddy." He can hear the catch in her breath like she was trying not to cry. She starts to turn away, but he catches her arm first.

"Please let me be a part of his life." Putting a finger under her chin, he lifts her head till he can meet her eyes. "I know I have hurt the both of you. But I am here now." He moves her bangs out of the way and tucks the end behind her ear. "I can apologize for the rest of my life; I'll never be able to make it up to the both of you. I don't know if it matters now, but I never cheated on you."

She gasps and she takes a step back. "What do you mean you never cheated? That bitch said…"

He interrupts, "She told me a week before graduation that she wasn't pregnant. I ran into her at a convention for work. She asked me to get a drink, and I didn't want anything else to do with her, but she insisted. So I went. She told me everything…"

"Wait a minute! You were drunk that night? I thought you were studying for that art final or whatever…"

"We were. Then a couple of the guys mentioned that they were having some kind of drink special at the bar for seniors so we decided to go. Then Marvel and Luke started doing jagerbombs so I did too. I don't remember leaving the bar."

"How many jager's did you have?"

"I had at least 6, I'm sure there were more though. Not to mention the tequila shots that we started off with."

She turns away to look back out the window. He wants to touch her; even raises his hand to touch her arm. Instead he drops it back to his side. "The next morning I woke up in just my underwear in her dorm room. She told me at that convention that we never did anything. I barely made it to her room and then I was looking for my phone to call you and then I puked and passed out. I woke up the next morning, got dressed, and went to my house. I couldn't tell you…"

Katniss turns in his direction, he can see that she is studying his face for something, he just isn't sure what when she says, "You never cheated on us?" she asks with disbelief. "What in the hell were you doing drinking jager and tequila anyway? After that time drinking it with Finn…"

This time he does give in to the urge to touch her. He gently reaches for her upper arms and gives her a gentle squeeze, not at all surprised at the muscle he feels there. "I never cheated on you. I never cheated on us. In fact Glimmer did say at the convention all I did was look for you. She said that she would call you if I would just rest for a minute and that is when I passed out. I didn't tell you then because I didn't know that I didn't have sex with her. I know that I broke us." He is surprised at the tears that come to his eyes, "I have thought about that and you every day since. I shouldn't have gone to that bar."

Katniss pulls away from him and walks to her freezer. He watches as she pulls out a fifth of Jim Beam and takes a big sip straight from the bottle. She tilts the bottle neck in his direction and he shakes his head. She takes another sip and places the bottle back in the freezer. Clearing her throat she says to him, "Ok. Start over and tell me that from the beginning. You saw Glimmer two years ago and she said what to you?"

"I had to go to a convention in Las Vegas for the firm about two years ago. I knew she was going to be there; Plutarch, my boss, had given me a list of the attendees who were representing their firms and I saw her name. I thought I could avoid her. After the first evening of meetings, I went to dinner with some of my co-workers and saw her. She came over and asked if she could talk to me when I was finished." He glances at Katniss's face and is not surprised when he sees her watching with narrowed eyes. He continues, "We met at the bar. After we ordered drinks, she told me that she had just found out that she had breast cancer and the doctors thought they could get it all, so she postponed her surgery and came to the convention specifically because she knew I was going to be there, and wanted to make things right. She knew that you and I were together and that we were going to get married after graduation. Well the couple of times she and I talked in class, she began to think that I could do so much better and wanted to break us up. She said she didn't really have a reason. Life was like a game to her and she was seeing who she could manipulate. It was her idea that night to go to the bar. She actually talked the bartender into making my jagerbombs stronger so I would pass out. After she got me to her dorm room, she could barely get my clothes off because I was out cold."

Katniss retrieves the Jim Beam. This time she takes an even longer sip and just leaves it on the counter. Not even looking at Peeta this time, she asks, "So nothing happened?"

"The way she described it to me, is I was out cold. I couldn't have had sex with her if I had wanted to. I woke up the next morning at six and went home. I didn't know how to tell you, not when I wasn't sure what happened. I was so confused during that time. And it just felt like I was going to lose you and instead of telling you everything, I got scared. And then Mother kept on and on about what I was going to do after graduation, and how I couldn't waste the money she had just spent on college so I needed to look for a job. I honestly didn't know what to do. I know you will probably never forgive me. I haven't forgiven myself for fucking up so bad." Stopping for a moment to gather his thoughts, he sees where Katniss has a shot glass beside the window over the sink. he reaches for it, and pours himself a shot. Drinking it quick, he enjoys the burn. "I could spend the rest of my life trying to make up for how I fucked up. I think about you every day."

She looks down at her hands as they rest on the counter. "Is that all she said?"

"Pretty much. When she was diagnosed, it made her realize how much she had messed up other people's lives. I found out a year ago from her boss that she passed away. The cancer had spread to her lung and her bones. Her boss Mr. Crane said she ended up being in a lot of pain and was in hospice for over a month." Peeta still couldn't believe what has happened to Glimmer. Even after what she has done to him, he wouldn't have wished that on anyone.

Katniss looks at him in disbelief. "You mean she's dead?"

Peeta nods. "Damn…" Katniss whispers. "I can't believe it."

Feeling the Jim Beam relax her enough to know that she needs to focus on what is happening right now for Jack, instead of what happened years ago, she looks into the face that is so much like her son's. Katniss takes a deep breath, and fighting back the tears, "I'm sorry too. I guess I should have pushed more to find you."

Looking down again, she tries to think of what she wants to say, and words escape her. As if no time had passed, Peeta has picked up on how she feels. So he approaches her like he is trying to coax a cat down from a tree. Gently he places his hand on her arm, sliding down his hand down to gently grasp hers. "Will you sit with me and tell me about Jack?"

Looking up to meet his eyes, she gives him a nod. Squeezing his hand she knows where she wants to take him first. "Follow me," She whispers. She knows that once she shows Peeta Jack's favorite place, there will be no more doubt that Jack is indeed his son. Leading him up the stairs to Jack's room, she walks Peeta to his door and opens it.

He looks around the room. Water gathers in his eyes, as his gaze falls on the drawings on the wall. Seeing the pillows piled up in the corner he looks to Katniss asking, "What is that over there?"

"The reading area. That is where he draws and reads. There are also some of his treasures hidden in there. I'll let him show you those when he is ready."

Not wanting to disturb anything, Peeta takes a step back and runs his hand through his hair. Katniss lets out a half laugh. "He does the same thing when he's nervous. It's amazing how much he is like you, even though he has never met you. "

"Really? Tell me how?"

"Well, he sees everything, notices every little detail."

Giving a laugh, Peeta says, "Do I do that?"

Katniss nods as she answers, "You do. He loves to draw too as you can see. You should see what his notebook."

Looking at the pictures on the walls, Peeta can see that Jack's talent will someday surpass his. He points to one of the pictures, "See that? How he is already starting to draw the shadows? I'm assuming that Annie didn't show him that at school?"

"No I'm sure Annie doesn't know about shadowing."

"That usually doesn't happen for a while. But it seems like he is teaching himself how to draw how. Have you let him mess around with anything else?"

"He has some paints here. I've shown him clay and other stuff at Haymitch's old store. You know he still carries all of the art stuff you had asked him to years ago? Jack seems interested, but I think it's because no one has shown him how to work the clay. I was going to take a class at Southwestern this winter in pottery, so I can show him."

Peeta's heart swells. His own mother wouldn't have taken a pottery class for him, although she did push him into the field that she thought would suit him. He pulls gently on her arm so she turns around, "You are a great mother Katniss. Can we go talk?"

"Yes, that sounds so nice." Katniss sighs as they walk back down to the living room. She sits on the couch and tucks her legs under her and asks, "So tell me about Atlanta?"

"It's Atlanta. While you were here building your business, I was building someone else's. Congratulations on yours by the way. I saw the billboard out on 231. It looks good."

"Thank you. I wasn't going to put it up, but I was in Haymitch's about a month ago, and they were talking to him about it. He offered to pay for half if his store would be on it too. Then he called them after we decided what it was going to be and pulled his store to just the bottom corner and gave me the rest of it." Haymitch is one of her biggest supporters. He sends clients to her all the time. "I know you said that you are in the middle of moving. What are your plans after? Are you going to start come home as much as possible? Or only a couple times a year?"

"Well honestly, I was going to get Dad to come visit me, but since I have found out about Jack, I'd like to be around more. What are you thinking?"

"Well I think I want Jack to get to know you before we tell him that you are his father. That way, we can transition him into the idea. Right now, he sees you as almost a super hero. When he has a bad day he wants his daddy. I know, why don't you come for breakfast in the morning?"

"I've got to be in Atlanta Monday morning. It will take me a good 3 ½ hours to get there." Looking at Katniss sitting across from him, he decides it's now or never. "Yes, I would love to come for breakfast. What time would you like me to be here?"

"Jack usually wakes up at 8:30. I'll call Madge and see if she will wake him up sooner. Do you want to be here about 8:45?"

"That sounds really nice, Katniss." he gets up and turns, "Thank you for meeting me tonight. I'm looking forward to spending some time with you and Jack tomorrow."

"I know Jack will be happy…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Note… I was asked about the distances between cities… I'm using real places for this except for their hometown. Atlanta is 3 ½ to 4 hours away from Charlotte. When Peeta moves to Charlotte, he will be about an hour and a half away from the hometown. Which will be around Julian Price memorial park N.C. the cabin, which is also her dad's cabin. Where Katniss dented Peeta's truck with Finn's boat is Lake Rhodhiss N.C. and that is about forty-five minutes to an hour away from Charlotte too. Just in the other direction. I hope that helps. Sorry about the confusion. **

**And I need to thank sohypothetically for her hard work. She doesn't have to do what she does, but I'm so glad that she does. Thank you to jojo for helping me scheme and for reading it just one more time. I need to get the wine sent to you… thank you to nonnie and jane for reading… and thank you readers for reading. You don't have to, but you do. And I'm so glad. And I need to thank 'peetagrl3' for leaving the sweetest reviews! You are so sweet and I hope you like the new chapter! So here we go… hopefully we can start moving forward to their future from here. **

* * *

Of all the things she has come across in her short twenty-seven years, the worst thing she has to deal with is her '4 year old' son when he doesn't want to do something. He probably isn't that bad- Madge told her that Daniel is worse- and Annie says that Jack is a wonderful, well behaved child. But at this moment in time walking the five hundred and so feet from the Hawthorne's house to hers, his whining is getting on her nerves.

"Mommy, I don't want to go home. We wasn't done playing," Jack says, fighting a yawn.

Oh great, he didn't sleep well last night either. "Baby, I told you, we are having company over for breakfast. And I would like for you to be there. When we are finished eating, we'll find something fun to do. Maybe after lunch, after you and Daniel have rested, you can go back and play some more. "Walking up the steps leading to their house, she stops and crouches down so she is on Jack's level. "Right now I need you to be the sweet young man I know you can be. "

"But Mommy…"

"No Jack. No buts." She lifts his chin with her fingers so he can look into her eyes. "Please Jack. This is Mommy's friend from last night. Do you remember Peeta? He wants to get to know you. So I asked him to come back for breakfast." Reaching around him, she pulls him into a big hug and nuzzles her nose into his neck so she can breathe his little boy smell. He smells like the woods, dirt, and sugar. "Who is my little Bear?" she growls playfully into his neck.

Wiggling in her arms as she stands up with him, he tries to twist so he can see her, "Mommy I not a bear! I'm a big boy!"

Pulling away so she can look at him, she smiles the Jack smile that is only for him. "You can't be my little Bear anymore?"

"No Mommy. I'm your big boy." She squeezes him while her fingers find his ticklish ribs. He giggles as he says, "Let me go! I gotta pee!"

Laughing because she knows this new game of his, she sweeps him around. "No you don't. You are just saying that."

"No Mommy, I gotta pee. Let me go please."

She knows that when he says 'please' he really does have to go. Opening the door and setting him down inside, she says, "Go then. I want you to change clothes, please."

"Can I wear my Superman shirt?"

Because of his hero, Jack has four Superman shirts. She knows that they are the same, but at least they are clean. So, at least, he will have a clean shirt to put on. "Ok, meet me in your room."

He is already up the stairs when he calls back, "K, Mommy!"

Looking at the clock beside the door, Katniss sees that it is 8:20. Peeta will be here at 8:30. She wonders if he is still as punctual as ever. Looking down at her own clothes, she panics, races up the stairs so she can change too. Walking over to her closet, she starts looking for her favorite jeans. Instead her fingers stop on her sun dress. It was going to be warm for October today, plus she could always throw on a sweater. Wait is she dressing up for Peeta? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she reaches for the dress. Jack had seen it at the mall and had told her how pretty his Mommy would be in it. So she had splurged. She didn't tell him that the 'burnt orange' he had picked out is his Daddy's favorite color, too.

Throwing it on, and grabbing Prim's sweater, she runs to the bathroom to rebraid her hair. Jack comes walking by the bathroom looking for her. "Mommy what are you doing?"

Smiling at him in the mirror, she said, "Rebraiding my hair…"

"No Mommy. Leave it down."

"But baby, I gotta cook…"

"Mommy, leave it down. It makes you prettier."

She looked at him in surprise. Jack has never said anything like that before. "Ok baby." She turned him around to go into his room, "Let's go get you ready now."

About the time they are both changed and headed down the stairs, Katniss can see Peeta's truck pull up in the driveway. Putting her hand on Jack's shoulder, she pauses at the bottom of the stairs and takes a deep breath, "Jack this man who is coming to eat breakfast with us, well he was, is a good friend. So be a big boy, ok?"

"Yes, Mommy."

When she hears the knock on the door Katniss says to Jack, "You can answer the door if you like."

He moves behind her legs and pressed his face into the back of them, "No Mommy. You do it." Reaching down to pick him up, his little arms go around her neck tightly as she says, "We'll do it together. Ok?" Feeling him nod against her neck, she starts to walk to the door, and they count together, "One… Two…" and opens the door as they say, "Three."

Standing there is her Peeta. No, he's not hers anymore, hasn't been for a long time. She gives him a small smile, "Come in, come in." Looking into his eyes, she sees where they rest on Jack hugging her tight. "He's feeling a little shy right now, and a little tired."

His eyes glance over her and she is glad that Jack told her wear the dress. He smiles nervously. "It's ok. I'm feeling a little nervous and shy and tired too," Peeta says with a chuckle.

Jack says in a soft voice, "Why is he nervous?"

Rubbing Jack's back, she and Peeta chuckle together. "Well baby everyone gets nervous. Whether, they are big or little."

Still muffled, he says, "But I'm big."

"Yes, you are little bear. Peeta come on in. I was getting ready to start breakfast."

Jack looks up at Peeta. "He has your eyes," Peeta says.

"Yea, he does. Everything else is his Daddy though." Wanting to change the subject, she asks, "What would you like for breakfast? We have eggs, sausage, bacon… I can make some biscuits… but what we usually do on Sundays is make pancakes. Right Bear?"

"Yes Mommy. Can I get down now?"

"Yes, Bear." Putting him down, she turns to look at Peeta, "Well what would you like?"

"This is quite the role reversal. It used to be me cooking for you" Peeta says.

She rolls her eyes, "When you have a little one, you learn to cook." She absentmindedly runs her fingers through jack's hair, "They get hungry really fast. Right Jack-jack?"

Jack looks from Katniss to Peeta warily. "Mommy I want pancakes."

"Is that ok, Peeta?"

He smiles at the both of them, "I think I can handle that. Do you want me to help any?"

"But, Mommy, I stir up the pancakes." Jack says with a little whine in his voice.

"Yes Bear that is your job." She bends down to his level, "Baby, no one is not going to take your job away. Ok?" Waiting for Jack to nod, she gives him a hug. "If you want to help me measure, go get a chair."

When Jack goes to get the chair, she glances at Peeta where he sits at the island. She stares at him for a moment trying to figure out what he is thinking. "It's ok. Usually it's just me and Jack. And like once a month Prim, when she isn't working or out with Rory. We've gotten so busy lately, that we are lazy bodies on Sundays." She pulls out the bowl that she usually uses and jack retrieves the measuring cups.

She says. "What else do we need for pancakes?"

"Flour."

"Can you reach it in the pantry?"

"Yes Mommy."

Gale helped her not long ago to put in an island. It is the perfect size for Jack to help her cook, and to be far enough away from the stove to where she wouldn't have to worry about him getting burnt. Jack loves how it let him help his mommy more. Feeling that old familiar feeling that never really went away, she takes a deep breath so she can focus on breakfast.

When Jack goes into the pantry, she meets Peeta's eyes again. She used to know him so well. How much has he changed over the years? Does he still sleep with the window open? Does he get a chance to bake at all?

When Jack returns with the flour, he climbs back up on his chair. He watches Katniss measure the flour and buttermilk. Then, instead of putting the wisk into the bowl, he looks up at Peeta. Slowly he offers the whisk to him. "You can have a turn stirring it up. Just go slow and don't spill it."

Peeta, realizing how important this is, he solemnly takes the wisk. "Thank you Jack. I appreciate it." Following Katniss's lead, he accepts the bowl she slides over to him. Picking up the bowl, testing its weight in his arm, feeling the familiar feel of the whisk he starts to stir.

"Did you know, Jack, that when I was your age, I worked in a bakery?"

"You did? Wait you worked with Mr. Graham? I bet that was awesome! He brings me cookies all the time!"

Katniss watches Peeta's face go pale as he hears those words and then the tips of his ears turn red. He looks into the bowl of batter as if he could hide from her there. She knows that he is upset. "Bear, why don't you go up to your room and look for your picture that you drew of Prim. She was going to come get it on her way to work so she could show everyone how you can draw."

Giving her a funny look, but jumping down anyway, he heads slowly up to his room. She knows that he will be busy for a couple of minutes. Walking around the island to where Peeta still stands with his head down, she gently reaches out to touch his arm. He flashes angry eyes at her and hisses out in a harsh whisper, "Dad, Katniss? He sees Dad 'all the time'?" He slams down the mixing bowl and walks over to the picture window that overlooks the back yard. Fighting back tears he turns to look at her as she approaches him carefully as one would a rabid animal.

"Peeta it's not all the time. Graham comes over about once a month or we meet him at the park across from the bakery when your Mom goes out of town to visit your aunt. He has never said anything to anyone about us…"

"Yea, I know, that's the problem. I just hate myself. You have been doing this all alone, when he could have told me. And even if we couldn't have been together, I still could have been here for Jack…"

Reaching out and touching his arm again- why was she touching him so much- Did having Jack make her a touchy-feely person all of a sudden, she whispers, "Peeta, remember I asked your dad not to say anything. And believe me; I am so sorry that I did. I know I should have let you know. But I didn't. I still can't tell you why I didn't. But I was selfish. And if I could go back I would. But I have learned that the what if's will kill you if you let it."

Hearing Jack's steps on the stairs and she moves away from him. "We'll talk about this some more. Ok?"

Taking a deep breath, and running his finger through his hair, he sighs. "Ok. Let's go make some pancakes."

"Mommy! I can't find that picture!" Jack shouts.

Meeting Peeta's eyes and giving a soft sigh, she turns to meet Jack as he comes running down the stairs. "What's a matter?"

"I can't find Aunt Prim's picture. But I found Charlie's picture that I was going to give to Mr. Graham instead." Glancing at Peeta, Jack whispers loudly, "Can I give it to him instead? I don't think he has anyone to draw him any pictures."

Blinking away the sudden tears, she realizes all she can do is nod and then watch as Jack walks over to Peeta and offers him his picture. Watching the two blonde heads of the two men she loves most in this world she can feel the love that she always had for them grow even more. As she looks at Peeta's face while he talks with Jack about the picture, she still finds it hard to figure out what he is thinking.

"This Mommy is hungry! I'm going to go fix pancakes!"

Jack looks from Katniss to Peeta and says, "Mommy since Peeta knows how to make cookies, then he can make pancakes. Let him cook them."

Giving Peeta a surprised look, and seeing the joy that blooms in his eyes, her heart gives a flip. "If that is what you want to do. Is that ok with you?"

Giving a nod as he stands up, Peeta holds out his hand towards jack. He is very happy when the little boy slips his hand into his. They are both smiling as they follow her back to the forgotten bowl of batter.

* * *

After breakfast, Jack insists on showing Peeta his playhouse. Peeta even crawls into the house after him, giving Katniss a chance to just watch them. 'Now what?' she wonders. Her vibrating phone interrupts her thoughts. Reaching into her pocket, she isn't surprised when she sees that it is Madge texting her.

Madge: How is it going?

Katniss: Actually, good. Jack has gotten Peeta to go into the playhouse with him. I know Peeta is a big guy, but until you have seen him in the playhouse, you don't realize how big lol. Is Daniel still mad because Jack had to leave?

Madge: Daniel is fine. It's the big one who is being annoying right now. Gale keeps pacing and looking over towards your house like he can see what is happening. Is everything ok?

Katniss: Tell Gale that everything and everyone is ok. I still need to talk to Peeta about what is going to happen now. I'm not ready yet to tell Jack that Peeta is his daddy. Prim is over at Rory's. Are you all going to be around this afternoon? I don't want Jack to hear this.

Madge: We were going to go to get pizza for lunch. Why doesn't Jack come with us then? Doesn't Peeta have to get back to Atlanta?

Katniss: Yea I'm sure he needs to get on the road soon. He actually hasn't mentioned anything about work or what is going on with him. He's probably married or at least engaged or something.

Madge: Do you really think so? I've heard Bran mention to Gale that he keeps pretty busy at the office. That is why he is getting the Charlotte office. He's the youngest ever to be offered the management position.

Katniss: Wait! When was Gale talking about Peeta to his brother?!

Madge: You know how Gale likes to gossip. Anyways, we are leaving about 11:30. Is that ok?

Katniss: yea, I'll get him ready and bring him over in a minute, ok? I can't believe it's already 10:45!

Madge: Ok. See ya!

She walks over to where Peeta is extricating himself from the playhouse, and jokes, "That is a tight fit. I'm surprised you got in there."

Looking into her eyes, he says, "It was worth it. I always wanted one, but you know how Mom is."

"Yea, too well." Katniss realizes that she said those words out loud and her face turns bright red.

Peeta chuckles. "We're not her favorite set of people to begin with. That hasn't changed at all. Now Dad, he has always loved you. Now I know why." He says as he looks into the playhouse where Jack is still playing with Superman and Spiderman.

Katniss pulls Peeta further away so Jack can't hear them. "I'm going to take Jack to Madge so he can go eat pizza with them. We need to talk."

Nodding at her words, he teases, "Now Miss Everdeen, those are the very words that can strike a man down. And I haven't even done anything."

She feels Peeta relax, so she does too and teases back, "Oh Mr. Mellark, you have done plenty. You just aren't aware of it yet." She then calls to Jack who is still in the clubhouse, "Jack! You're going to pizza with Daniel for lunch."

"But Mommy I want to play with Peeta some more. He said that he would help me draw you really good. Can I please?"

Pulling Jack over to her, she hugs him. "Maybe next time Bear. Peeta, I think, needs to start heading to Atlanta. That's where he lives."

Looking at Peeta with wide eyes, Jack asks, "Atlanta? That's a really long ways away. I want to go see the sharks but Mommy says work is too busy to take me right now. Too many people want to go into the woods. Are you coming back to see me?"

Peeta crouches so he can look Jack in the eyes. "I would love and I want to come back to see you again. That's what your Mama and I need to talk about. Ok?"

Somehow when she hears Peeta say that, she knows everything is going to be ok.

* * *

After Katniss walks Jack to the Hawthorne's, she starts to feel nervous again. For the first time in years, she has to let Peeta back into her life for Jack. It used to be so easy when she didn't know until after he was gone that he had been in town for the weekend or Graham said something to her about a new promotion Peeta had received at work. Here is the person her son has been heartbroken for not being in his life. Who is she kidding, she is still heartbroken too. He is the reason she didn't date, though she tells everyone it is because of Jack.

She still can't believe that Peeta is in her house. "Would you like some tea?" she offers.

"Sure, make it with no…"

"Sugar." She finishes for him.

"You remember…"

"How could I forget? I remember everything about you. You always said you wanted to taste the tea…"

"And not the sugar." He laughs.

As she turns to get the tea out of the cabinet, she hears him sigh. She turns to look at where he sits at her island with his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair. She knows that he does this when he is upset and trying to figure something out. She puts the kettle on to boil.

"What do we do now, Katniss? Now that I know about him, I can't leave him. I never would have left him anyway."

She sees the sadness in his eyes. She wants to reach out and tell him that it will be ok. But she doesn't let herself. He is no longer hers to comfort. "When do you have to be moved and in the office in Charlotte?"

"I think its two or three weeks? Then I'll be much closer. I have an idea. How about you bring Jack next weekend and we will go to the aquarium? I went when I was getting together their ad campaign for last year. It's great and I would love to take you and Jack." He says with hope in his eyes. "Come on Katniss. Do you have to work next weekend?"

"Well I do have that one group coming in. but I think Vick and Posy can do it. They don't want to go far into the woods." Watching Peeta's face light up like Jack's does when he is excited about something is worth rearranging her entire schedule. At least she hopes it is. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Katniss." He watches her pour boiling water over the tea bag. "What is going to happen now? Are we going to share custody? Am I only going to get to see him on the weekends? And maybe on Thanksgiving and Christmas? I don't want it to end up this like that."

Chewing on her lip as she looks down into her cup like it has the answers. "I know. I didn't want it to be this way either. But here we are. Now we just need to remember to act like adults and we will get through this." She looks up at him to where he sits watching her. "I still can't believe that you are here."

"I can't believe that I am here either. Why didn't you let Dad tell me? I would have come home to take care of you and Jack."

"I told you, I thought you didn't want me anymore. It was like you disappeared. I mean I even went to the bakery and talked to your mom! When you didn't call, that is when I knew something was wrong. And I was tired Peeta, really tired. I thought you were with Glimmer on top of everything." Taking a deep breath, "Honestly if I hadn't seen Graham in the grocery store when my water broke, he wouldn't know either. You don't know how sorry I am for not pushing more to tell you. But I am doing the best I can…" she doesn't even realize that tears are falling down her face until she feels his hands grabbing her arms, and bringing her in for a hug.

"Hey. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get you so upset. It's ok now. I'm here if you will let me be here. I want to be here for you and Jack." he leans back so he can tilt her chin up and see her face. "I'm here now. We will figure this out together if you will allow it?"

Returning his squeeze, she says "I'll allow it."


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own anything… the hunger games… coke… the towns of Atlanta and Charlotte are real, but they aren't mine either. Neither are superman and spiderman. **

**Thank you to sohypothetically. I owe you dear. After the mess last week, I'm glad you are safe. To jojo for scheming and nonnie and jane for reading. I really do appreciate all of the help. And most of all, to everyone who is reading. Thank you. I know that you don't have to follow, or read, or comment, but you do. Thank you. Oh and peetagrl3… dear I love your reviews! And you are finnicking brilliant too! Enjoy!**

When he gets into his truck to leave Katniss and Jack on Sunday, it is the hardest thing he has ever done. It would be easier to tear his heart out and leave it here. After telling Katniss goodbye, he has to use every part of his willpower not to drop to his knees, beg for forgiveness and to take her in his arms so he can finally come home. Instead he turns around, climbs into his truck and pulls out of her driveway. When he gets to the stop sign and he can either go left to his parents' house, or right to go to Atlanta, he turns right. He thinks about going and talking to his parents about what just happened, but he isn't ready to share Jack with them yet. He snorts at the irony of the situation. His Dad didn't share Jack with him, and now he is returning the sentiment. 'Yep, this is a healthy family dynamic,' He thinks to himself.

While he drives, he plays the weekend over and over in his head. His heart breaks thinking about Jack, that sweet little boy loves Superman and his mommy. It isn't until that moment that he realizes how much he has missed him. Yes, it is one of those corny but so sweet love songs, "I loved you before I met you" type things, but his heart aches the further away he is from him. Jack is everything he could want in a son; everything he could have wished for and everything he could have prayed for. So many hopes and dreams have reawakened for him, along with the realization that he doesn't want the hustle and bustle of city life and the competiveness of the corporation.

Years ago he buried the dreams that included Katniss. The memories that would resurface when he had too much to drink, or in those moments of waking up when he would think for a moment that they were in the bedroom of her house wrapped around each other with his nose buried in her hair. He would reach across his bed searching for her, and when he couldn't find her there, he would break again.

The miles go by quickly as he is lost in his thoughts and soon he is pulling into his parking spot outside of his townhouse. Putting the truck in park, he rests his forehead against the steering wheel and takes a deep breath. Feeling the tears come, he grabs his bag and his computer and goes inside. He sets his bags down in his bedroom, slips off his shoes before walking into the bathroom, pulling off his shirt and starting the shower. Dunking his head, feeling the hot water wash over him; he finally lets the tears come. With the tears comes 5 years of what if's and should have been.

It is much later when he is eating his sandwich that his phone chimes its text message ring. Feeling his heart skip a beat when he sees that it is from Katniss, he opens it.

Katniss: Hey. I was wondering if you had made it back ok?

Peeta: I've been here about an hour. I was just eating a bite. What are you doing?

Katniss: Actually I was enjoying the peace for just a little bit longer. Jack is still at Daniel's. Do you go back to work tomorrow?

Peeta: Yes, I have to catch up from being gone last week and I need to get everything started on the transfer to the Charlotte office.

Katniss: So you are for sure taking it?

Peeta: I can't turn it down now. I will be a little over an hour away from (he so wanted to type her name!) Jack. If I find a place on the west side, I will be even closer.

Katniss: On the west side? Get in touch with Finn. He just finished doing some work on some townhouses and apartments on that side of Charlotte. He might know of some places.

Peeta: Thanks! Can you send me his number? I don't have his anymore.

Katniss: 828-555-3969. Do you remember Dad's old cabin?

Peeta: Of course I remember that place! That's great that you still have it. It has the best view of Lake Rhodhiss.

Katniss: One of the places Finn worked on is close to it. That might be too far to drive though.

Peeta: Well the office is kind of north Charlotte but it's west too. I might get a hotel room at first until I can figure out where I want to live.

Katniss: You can stay in the cabin if you'd like.

Peeta: I can't do that.

Katniss: Yes you can. Someone needs to stay in it, at least for a little while. I've been so busy getting ready for the spring hikes we haven't had time to go. When are you moving?

Peeta: Well since the transfer was waiting on me to accept, it's just a matter of moving now. You are still coming this weekend aren't you? Jack needs to come and see the sharks!

Katniss: Lol. Like he would let me forget. Posy and Vick said they would cover for me on Friday and Saturday both. So we can come down Friday morning. Are you working?

Peeta: I can take a day off. I need to pack anyway.

Katniss: Are you sure?

Peeta: Yes! I can't disappoint Jack anymore. How long are you going to stay?

Katniss: Sunday I guess? Will we be in the way of you wanting to pack? We can help if you want us to.

Peeta: You are not coming all this way to help me pack. I'm going to start packing this week so you won't have to help me.

Katniss: Ok, Lol.

Peeta: What does Jack like to eat?

Katniss: I can very proudly say anything. He hasn't met a food yet that he doesn't like. But he will eat the normal kid stuff before he will anything else. Are you going to feed us too?

Peeta: But of course. I can't have my favorite people going hungry now can I?

Katniss: No I guess not. Thank you for letting us come to visit.

Peeta: It's not a problem. What else would Jack like to do while he is here?

Katniss: The aquarium is plenty! I need to go get Jack. I bet he's ready to go to bed by now.

Peeta: I bet he is. Thank you.

Katniss: Thank you for what?

Peeta: Just thank you for today. Thank you for Jack. Thank you for letting me meet him.

Katniss: You're welcome. I'll talk to you later.

Peeta: Goodnight.

Monday morning comes too quickly for tired mamas. Rolling over to hit the alarm, and thankful that she doesn't have to have Jack anywhere until nine, Katniss lays in bed for just a minute more. She can't remember the entire dream that she was just having, but she knows that it was about Peeta. She dreams about Peeta often, but this one was so real. Instead of the Peeta from 5 years ago, this one has the guarded but still loving Peeta from this weekend. The grown up Peeta that she still wants. For just a moment, she lets herself think about what it would be like to kiss him. To feel him next to her again. There hasn't been anyone else in these five years. She just hasn't had time. But she did rely on her memories of Peeta when she used the vibrator that Jo bought her after Jack was born. Taking a deep breath and feeling the wetness from her memories and the electricity that was in the air yesterday, she reaches for her top drawer in her nightstand. Seeing that it is 7:05, she relaxes knowing that she has time. And once again, she is grateful that Jack will sleep on Mondays until she wakes him up. That doesn't however stop her from getting up and locking her bedroom door.

Crawling back into the bed, she picks up her vibrator and settles back against the pillows. Turning it on she starts to think about her old memories. Before she can stop herself however, the Peeta that is here yesterday was in her thoughts. His eyes were even bluer than they had been when they were so much younger. How wide his shoulders had gotten. How his hands were still the same hands that used to be her everything. And his voice saying her name again… Katniss gasped as the vibrations against her clit brought her to orgasm. Maybe she has missed him more than she thought if she came that fast just from seeing him yesterday.

Waiting for her heart to slow down, her mind goes to her dream again. It was like the orgasm brought everything into focus, they were a family like they should have been from the beginning. Letting the tears come, she realized that they wasn't sad tears of what had been lost, but they were tears of happiness and of hope, The hope of what was coming and of old and new dreams finally coming true. Katniss felt like she was standing at the edge of a cliff looking out into the unknown. She needs to take that first step and she somehow knew that everything will fall into place.

"Mama when is Peeta coming to see me again?"

"We will be seeing him on Friday I hope. Why?" Katniss asks as she helps Jack tie his shoe. Standing up, she picks the comb off of the counter.

Trying not to fidget like little boys who really don't like getting their hair combed will, he says, "He was fun to play with. And he didn't say no when I asked him to get in my clubhouse. He said that he wanted to draw with me." And then in his little voice, he adds, "I really like him. He listened to my words."

She can almost see his little lip quivering, and then he takes a deep breath and meets her eyes. Bending down so she is on his level, she brings him in for a hug. Jack, realizing what she is doing, lunges at her and throws his arms around her neck. Not expecting that, she loses her balance and they both tumble backwards with Jack landing on top. She laughs only when Jack laughs first which she takes as a sign that whatever was bothering him is over now. Squeezing him tight, she sits up and settles him on her lap so she can give him a big, big hug, as he likes to call them, and she gives him a kiss on the top of his head.

"Hey Bear, I have an idea."

She hears his muffled voice from where his head is buried in her chest. "What Mommy?"

"Why don't you go to work with me today? Posy and Vick are both going to be there so we can hang out all day. How does that…"

Jumping up, he throws his arms around her neck. "Oh Mommy can I? I love it when I get to go to work! But what about Ms. Annie?"

"Oh, Bear, she can do without you for one day." She heads downstairs and knows that he will be following her, she says, "I'll text her and let her know that you are staying with me today. Will that work?"

"Oh yes Mommy. Can I help Posy play in the tent?"

"We'll see, we'll see."

After Jack buckles himself up in his booster seat, he says, "Mommy I'm hungry."

She forgot to fix them some breakfast. The bakery is on the way to the shop, though, and she remembers that Graham told her just last week that Anna had declared herself retired from the bakery. Looking in her rear-view mirror at Jack, she suggests, "Hey Bear, do you want to try something new?"

"What is it? Where are we going?"

"Hang on; we'll be there in a minute." She turns into one of the parking spaces of the bakery.

"Are we there, Mommy?"

Putting the jeep in park, she turns in her seat. "Come on Bear. You will like this place."

He unbuckles his booster seat. Katniss gets out of the jeep and holds out her hand, and waits for him to put his hand in hers before she walks in the bakery door. Opening the door and hearing the chime of the bell that she hasn't heard in years, smelling the bakery's smells, she blinks quickly to fight the tears that come to her eyes.

"Katniss and Jack! My two favorite people in the whole wide world! Can I get you two something to eat?" Graham calls out to them when they approach the counter.

Katniss gives Graham a nod and watches Jack as he goes to the counter to look at all of the baked goodness in the glass display. He is amazed at the cupcakes that are decorated with different cartoon characters, cakes covered in flowers like dandelions and primroses, doughnuts in every shape and size and of course, cheese buns.

"What do you see, Bear?"

"Oh Mommy, can I try them all?"

Chuckling, she says, "Oh Bear, then we wouldn't be able to get anything else done today. Why don't you pick out a doughnut for now and a cupcake for later?"

Nodding and then looking at her with wide eyes, "Really Mommy? I can have two of them?"

"Yes, and I want cheese buns. I'm going to talk to Mr. Graham for a minute, ok?"

Jack looks up at Graham like he is just notices that he stands behind Mommy. He propels his little body at the man's legs and gives him a big, big hug and an even bigger smile. "There you are! Where have you been?"

Graham chuckles for those are the words that he always says to Jack when he meets them in the park. Reaching down and picking him up under his arms, he pulls Jack in for a proper hug. "I've been right here working. Where have you been, young man?"

"I made a new friend yesterday! His name is Peeta…"

"Jack why don't you go to the coloring area and make Mr. Graham a picture?" Katniss interrupts.

"But Mommy…"

"Jack, let me talk to Mr. Graham for a minute, and then you can tell him what we want to eat, ok?"

"Ok, Mommy." Jack says with a sigh after Graham set him on his feet and walks over to the kid's table.

"He met Peeta this weekend?" Graham whispers.

"You haven't talked to him?"

"I saw him for about ten minutes yesterday morning. He said that he had to meet someone and was gone very early. What happened?"

She isn't sure how much she should say. She feels like she is being put in the middle somehow. Peeta should be talking to him about this, not her. "Graham… "

"Jack met Peeta right?" Graham interrupts her.

Looking down so she doesn't have to meet his eyes, she mutters a weak, "Yes." She has forgotten how expressive his face is. She sees shock, happiness and then sadness all mixed up. Before she knows it, Graham has her wrapped up in a hug. Returning it meekly, she pats him on the back and then steps back.

"Oh, Katniss. Why didn't he say anything?"

"I figured he would have come back before he went back to Atlanta."

"No, not a word. He did text to let me know he made it back ok." He pats Katniss on the back, "Well I imagine it's been a shock to him. He used to do this when he was younger. He would have to go process everything that had happened and then come back and talk about it. I would imagine that he was upset too." He looks over at Jack, "All I've ever wanted is for you and Jack to have everything you deserve and that includes Peeta." He looks back to Katniss, sees the tears forming in her eyes, and pulls her in again for a side hug. "Oh, sweetie. It's going to be alright. I would even go as far as to say that it's me he is going to be the maddest at. And trust me, after living with Anna all this time, I can handle it. I would even say he's at work right now figuring out a way to get back here sooner rather than later."

Walking into the office on that Monday morning, Peeta realizes two things. One, that it is time for a change, and two; he doesn't really like what he is doing anymore. He stops at Clove's desk for his messages from last week. "How did it go last week?"

"The normal stuff. Cato did manage to land the new Coke campaign. We all had too much to drink that night." When Clove was assigned to be his personal assistant a year ago, Plutarch had told Peeta to train her to take over his spot one day. Now after going to the Charlotte branch, he understands. He gathers his messages and walks into his office with Clove following behind him.

Setting down his messenger bag on his desk, he walks over to the window. "Did you water the plants?"

"You know I did, boss. Well, how is Charlotte? Is it as bad as Plutarch made it out to be?"

Peeta walks over to his chair and sits down. He knows that it's going to be a busy week, but he is ready for Friday. "It's not really that bad. The office manager there, Effie, is just so overwhelmed since Portia quit to stay home with her baby that she has let too many accounts fall aside. That is why they want me."

"That's because you are just so good. I kind of wish I could come with you. But I'm excited about taking over this office. Do you think they would let me paint the walls blue?"

He laughs at her as she sits back and admires the view out the window. He had thought he might miss this place, but after meeting Jack and seeing Katniss, he knows that won't be the case. "What do you need to do this morning?"

"Plutarch said something about me looking over the campaigns from the past year even though I know yours and some of Cato's."

"Ok. Well go ahead and start pulling files. I'm going to make some phone calls, and then we will start figuring out what lose ends I need to tie up before I go."

Clove starts to walk to the door when she turns at the last minute to study Peeta. "You seem different today. What happened while you were in Charlotte? Something happened, you seem lighter somehow. Whatever it is, it looks good on you."

He smiles a little smile and looks at his keyboard. Not wanting to give anything away about what did happen, he instead says, "I had a chance to stop by the old hometown. It was good seeing everyone. Get out of here Clove. We both have work to do."

Googling the name of Delly's flower shop back home, he dials the number. Hearing her cheerful, "The Tipsy Tulip" always makes him smile since he has to call her when he is coming into town.

"Hey Delly, it's Peeta."

He has to hold the phone away from his ear when she lets out her trademark squeal, and he laughs as she exclaims, "Are you still in town? Graham told me yesterday when I stopped for doughnuts that you were in."

"No I had to get back last night. I just ran out of time this time. I'll treat you to your regular Scarlet O'Hara the next time I'm in town. I don't see how you can drink Southern comfort and cranberry juice. "

"Oh Peeta," she giggles. "Not everyone thinks it tastes like cough syrup. Whenever you can, I know you are a busy man. I was also told that you were moving to Charlotte. Is that true, too?"

"Yes it is. Hopefully, I will be all moved in two weeks. I need to call the moving company that Plutarch is paying for. Anyways that isn't why I called- I need you to do me a favor."

"Peeta, you know I'll do anything you need. What is it?"

"First of all, I need a big bouquet of daisies and dandelions…"

"Dandelions, Peeta?"

"Yes. Doesn't the meadow out beside the bakery still have those?"

"I think so."

"And then I need for you to go down to Haymitch's…"

"You want me to go to Haymitch's? Peeta what are you up to?"

"Well if you will let me finish, I will tell you. Go to Haymitch's and get some art supplies. I'm going to call him next and see what he has so he can have it ready for you."

"So after I get the daisies and the dandelions and the art supplies, where am I delivering it all to?

"You are actually going to take it all to Everdeen's…."

Peeta had to hold the phone away from his ear again because Delly let out another squeal. he gently puts the phone back to his ear as he has heard only some of what she was saying, "…he is such a sweet boy… are you talking to Katniss again… her shop is down from mine… business is picking up for everyone…"

He chuckles and thinks how Delly hasn't changed after all these years. She was always his biggest cheerleader when it came to him and Katniss. "Delly… listen to me, please."

Breathless, she answers, "What Peeta?"

"When can you get this stuff to Katniss?"

"Peeta! You are sending her flowers! What happened?"

"Delly, I promise I will explain it all soon. Let me call Haymitch's so you can get this done today. Do you need my credit card number?"

"Ok, Peeta. You definitely owe me a drink after that heart attack. Just don't worry about the card right now. Next time you are in town, bring it by and I'll do it with the credit card machine. It's easier to do it that way. "

"Are you sure? I've got it right here in front of me."

"You are fine. Get me next time."

"Ok then. I'll go ahead and pay Haymitch so you won't have to."

"Thank you. He also just got some new trucks. Jack likes trucks too."

Surprised that Delly would know that he asks, "How do you know that?"

"Oh Peeta, their shop is right down from mine. One day last week they came in to say hello and Jack was telling me about his new truck. He was really proud that it's a Superman truck. What happened between you and Katniss? Why are you sending them flowers and toys?"

"Delly I told you, I will tell you over drinks. I promise. You get those flowers ready; let me call Haymitch, and I'll text you to let you know when you can pick it up. Ok?"

He can hear the chime of her front door ringing in the back ground. "Listen, I'm the only one here right now, let me let you go."

"Ok. Talk to you later. Thank you again, Delly."

"You're welcome. Bye, Peeta."

Pushing the end button, Peeta looks through his contacts to see if by chance he still has Haymitch's phone… oh there it is. Pushing send, he waits for the old coot to answer. Wishing he had taken a minute to go into Haymitch's store to see what he still carried, he was almost lost in thought when he hears a gruff. "Haymitch's"

"Is this Haymitch?"

"Speaking. Who is this?"

"Hey, Haymitch its Peeta Mellark."

"Well, hello boy. It's been a long time."

"Yes it has. How is business treating you?" Peeta asks.

"It's actually good. How can I help you, boy? I know you didn't call me to talk shop," He grunts at Peeta.

Chuckling into the phone, he answers, "No, I didn't. I heard that you still had art supplies on hand?"

"I have some stuff. What are you looking for?"

Peeta sighs in frustration. "Delly Cartwright is coming by in a little bit. She is going to pick up some art supplies and some toys for a delivery. Would it be better if she just comes in and calls me to tell me what you have?"

"No, I have what you need. Would this delivery happen to be for a certain four year old boy that has blonde hair like his father?"

Peeta doesn't have time to stutter out a meek reply before Haymitch is talking over him, "You know, it's about time she let you know about the little boy. He was in here just the other day telling me…"

"What do you mean it's about time she let me know?"

"Calm your tits, boy! They meet your dad at the park across from me once a month. It wasn't hard to put one and two together and that equals the little boy being a Mellark."

"Haymitch! Don't go announcing it to your entire store! Listen just get him some art supplies and some toys that he has been wanting over the past couple of months that Katniss hasn't gotten for him. Call me back and I'll pay for them and I can let Delly know to pick the stuff up."

"You don't have to pay now. Just, the next time you are in town, come by and settle up the bill."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I trust you. Tell Delly to give me about an hour and she can pick the stuff up."

"Thank you Haymitch. And throw some of the new trucks in there too. I heard something about a Superman and a Spiderman truck?"

"Yea I've got those. Listen, boy…"

"What is it, Haymitch?"

"Hurry up and fix this. That little boy has been missing his daddy for a long time. I'll tell you what she won't; they need you. Hurry up and come and rescue them."

Feeling the sting of unexpected tears, he clears his throat quickly and says, "That is what I'm trying to do. They have to let me in so I can."

He was closing out his computer when he got the text from Delly saying that she had just delivered the flowers and stuff from Haymitch's to Katniss. He smiles to himself as he gather up the last of his things, walks to the door, and shuts off the light. He types out a quick reply to Delly as he makes his way to his truck. Wondering how long it was going to take for Katniss to call him, his phone starts ringing. Looking at her name lighting up his screen he swipes the screen to accept it. "Hello…"

She interrupts him before he can say anything else, "What did you do Peeta?"

Laughing, he says, "Who, me? I didn't do anything."

"Peeta," he hears the disbelief in her voice, "You sent me those beautiful flowers and Jack those art supplies and trucks. You didn't have to do that."

"Katniss, I wanted to. Are those the art supplies that Jack likes, or has he figured out what his favorite mediums are yet?"

"He just likes art. He isn't that picky. Peeta, why did you send us those things?"

Too late he remembers how she was when it came to receiving things. She hated feeling like she owed anyone. "Katniss it' ok. I did it because I wanted to. I want Jack to have some new art things that I know that he would like. The daisies and the dandelions, I remember that those are your favorites. Has that changed?"

Meekly she answers, "No, Peeta, they are still my favorites. I'm sorry. It didn't hit me that you hadn't been able to give to Jack like I have. It's a natural thing to want to do it now. Just do me a favor and give me a head's up next time. Ok?"

"Oh, no. What happened?"

"Did Delly not tell you?"

"No I haven't talked to her since I asked her to get the flowers and to run by Haymitch's. This doesn't sound good at all." By this time he's climbing behind the steering wheel of his truck. He asks, "What did Jack do?"

While He starts the truck and heads out of the parking lot Katniss tells him, "Well first you have to understand that Delly and Jack adore each other. When I was first opening the store, she volunteered to watch Jack while I was getting everything set up. Until he started school in August, he would be at her flower shop a couple of days a week."

"Oh, wow. I didn't know he was close to Delly," He says with a tinge of regret in his voice.

"Oh, Peeta. What's wrong?"

He sighs into the phone, "I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that I have a son. And it makes me sad when I think about the time I've missed." He isn't about to tell her how upset it makes him also. "What happened next?"

"Well, once Jack saw Delly coming in the door with the flowers and the stuff, he had a fit. He looked at the art supplies for about a minute, but unknown to me, Haymitch put some candy in the bundle he knew Jack has been begging for but I wouldn't let him have it. He ate it before I realized what happened and he is still bouncing around. He is starting to wind down. Thankfully, Posy worked today so she was able to play with him while I arranged some hikes. How was your day?"

Just when he is about to respond, he hears Jack asking, "Mommy when are we going home? I want to go paint."

"Hang on, Bear, let me finish talking to Peeta…"

"Peeta!" he hears Jack screech. "Let me talk to him, Mommy. Please, I need to talk to him. Let me talk to him, please, Mommy…" he hears Jack say all in one breathe without pausing a bit.

"Wait just a minute…"

"It's ok Katniss. I'll talk to him."

"Are you sure? You're not busy right now?"

"No, I'm driving. I'm actually almost home."

"Ok, then." holding the phone away from her ear, he can still hear her say, "Jack, remember what I told you the other day about talking on the phone? How we still need to be nice and listen when the other person is trying to talk?"

He chuckles when he hears a disgruntled, "Yes, Mommy. I'll listen when Peeta is talking. I promise."

A sweet little voice comes on the line and says, "Hello Peeta! Delly said that you sent me the trucks! And the new paint! When are you coming to paint with me? When can you come play with me again? Mommy said that we could take you to Papa's lake and that you might even get to stay in Papa's cabin if you want to. I didn't go to school today. I'm so glad that I didn't because you sent me stuff and I got to see Delly…" he says all in one breath again. He can hear Katniss chuckling in the back ground.

"Wow, Jack that is a mouthful…"

"What do you mean it's a mouthful? I don't have anything in my mouth. Mommy why would Peeta say that I have a mouthful when I don't have anything in my mouth and he can't see me either. Can he see me? Peeta can you see me? If you can see me why can't I see you?"

"Jack, give me the phone."

"No, Mommy. I still talking to Peeta…"

"Jack listen to my words. I need to talk to Peeta and then we need to go home and fix supper and go to bed. You sound really tired."

He hears the tired and over-excited little boy say, "K, Mommy. Bye, Peeta."

"Bye, Jack."

Katniss come back to him with a chuckle, "That is a tired little boy, just in case you didn't guess. Can I call you or text you later? Let me get him in and fed."

"That works. I actually need to call the movers."

"Ok, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Katniss."

"Bye, Peeta."

Katniss catches herself looking and smiling every time she sees the flowers out of the corner of her eye as she does her evening routine. Even though she had once told Peeta that she kind of thought giving or sending flowers was silly, that she would rather have something to plant in the yard, this time she feels special. And even though she tried to fuss at Peeta over sending them, she is still glad that he did. The candy for Jack that Haymitch included, well that is a different story. After coaxing Jack to finish his dinner, she decides that it is time for an early bath and an early bed time. She loves Jack, but she also needs some mommy time.

It is about 8:00 when she realizes that Jack is asleep. So she goes to the refrigerator, and opens her favorite local winery's muscadine wine and settled on the couch with the remote. She needs to look over her list for the order she needs to place on Wednesday, but she knows what she needs, so she decides to relax instead.

She starts going through the DVR when her eyes settle on her phone on the coffee table in front of her. Trying to remember if she had turned the volume up before she went to help Jack with his bath, she jumps when her text notification rings. Taking a deep breath, she leans forward and smiles when she sees that it's Madge.

Madge: What are you doing?

Katniss: Drinking wine. U?

Madge: Is Jack asleep? I just got Daniel to sleep.

Katniss: Yes you can come over and ask about Peeta.

Madge: I'll be there in a min. Do you have more wine?

Katniss: You know I do.

Madge: K

Katniss gets up and makes sure the front door is still open and unlatches the screen door so Madge can come in and then goes to the kitchen to pour another glass of wine. As she finishes pouring, she hears Madge step on the squeaky second step she has been meaning to fix. The opening door rings the bear-bell she had to attach last year so she could hear if Jack was going outside. Putting the cork back in the bottle, she puts it back in the refrigerator and turns with the wine in her hand to give to Madge. Katniss walks back to the couch and sits with her feet under her, then waits for her friend to make herself comfortable too. Sitting there in silence like only old friends can, Katniss waits for the question to come…

"What happened?" Madge asks.

Taking a long sip of her wine to finish the glass, Katniss looks into the bottom half wishing she had brought the bottle with them. "It went well. It really did." Giving a little smile and looking up at Madge, she says, "I thought he would be really mad, but I think he's still in shock."

"Why would he be mad? Katniss it's you. He could never be mad at you over anything."

"Madge, you don't realize how much he wanted kids. There were times after he proposed that that was all he would talk about. I always thought that he wanted kids because of the way his mom is. In a way to prove that he isn't anything like her."

Taking a drink, Madge gets up and walks to the kitchen to get the rest of the wine. "You know, I never thought about it, but that kind of makes sense. In a way he wanted children to show her that he could do it better?" She walks back to the couch and pours Katniss another glass and settles back on the couch.

"And because he is so good and kind." Physically shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, Katniss begins to tell Madge everything that happened over the weekend with Peeta. She keeps looking at the flowers that he sent today. He still loves her. She knew it when he first looked at her at Daniel's party. She also knows that she still loves him. She just needs to figure out if it's because he gave her Jack, or if it's because it's him.

**Quick end note… there is such a thing as a bear bell… we had to get one for the deaf dog so we could hear where she was, ended up having to put it on the screen door because the mother in law oiled the door and I couldn't hear anymore when my little was leaving… **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone! Summer is here! I'm actually updating for you from the beach today! I hope you enjoy this chapter. And remember that it's only been a week since Peeta learned about Jack. I've been thinking so much about this story, It's seems like for forever. I do appreciate each and every one of you who takes a moment out of their day to read. And I the ones who review every time, thank you. I get a big smile each time I read your review. And peetagrl… thank you! And the ones who have favored and followed, thank you so much! **

**And thank you to sohypothetically… dear you rock. Jojo thank you! And nonnie and jane… thank you too! **

* * *

Peeta is almost done with his Tuesday morning list of what Clove likes to call his 'Peeta-do list', when he remembers that he needs to call the moving company. After calling them, he calls Thresh to make arrangements to take Jack and Katniss to the aquarium. He was the chief designer last year on their advertising campaign, and their board was so pleased with the results that he was given lifetime passes. He just has to call Thresh and tell him that he is coming. Because this is the first time he has someone to take, so he hasn't been yet.

He still can't believe that Katniss has agreed to come to Atlanta. Peeta has fond memories of her legendary stubbornness and hard-headedness. His own dad likes to tell the story about Lily Everdeen and how when they were little, he had told her that she couldn't climb the big pine tree behind her house. Well when little Lily got about halfway up the tree, she lost her footing and fell ten feet to break her arm because no one could tell her that she was too little. Katniss herself likes to tell the story of when she was four and begged her dad to teach her to shoot a bow. At first he would say that she was too little, but after taking his handmade bow that had been handed down to him by his father and almost shooting their pet cat, he had to go and get her own Katniss sized bow.

Given those two examples his dad would say that the Everdeen women were good examples of old fashioned independence. When Mr. Everdeen was killed by falling off of the light pole when Katniss is 16, and Lily went into her shock and depression, Peeta asked his Dad to sell her the leftover loaves, from the bakery, for 50 cents apiece, to make the monthly check go a little further. It's also because of his passing, and wanting to give some kind of comfort to Katniss, he started to speak to her when he could. Katniss felt like she owed him, started to respond to him, and they became friends.

Checking the time, Peeta sees that it's close to lunch but decides to call Katniss anyway. After her cell phone rings several times, he is disappointed when it goes to her voice mail. Listening to her sweet voice asking him to leave a message, he simply says, "Hey it's Peeta. Call me when you get a chance. I've made arrangements for this weekend and was just going to fill you in on the details... bye." Pushing end, he sets the phone down.

That is when Clove walks in and hears the tail end of his message. She smirks at him, "Do you have a big date loverboy? Who is the lucky lady?"

He blushes slightly as he looks down at his desk. "Just an old friend from school."

"Mellark, are you blushing?" Sitting down in the chair In front of his desk, Clove makes herself comfortable. "I've been working with you for the past three years. I have never seen you act like this. Who is she?"

"She is just an old friend from school. We both ended up at a birthday party Saturday…" Its then his cell starts to ring. Clove grins when she sees a smile spread across Peeta's face, letting her know who is calling. "Go do some work or something. I need to answer this."

He watches her walk out of his office and shut the door before accepting the call. "Hello?"

"Hey it's Katniss. Sorry I couldn't get to the phone in time."

In just the course of not even a day, hearing her talk to him like she did so long ago makes him happy. He just listens to her talk and enjoys the sound of her voice before he realizes that she has asked him a question. Blushing again, he clears his throat and asks, "I'm sorry, Clove was talking to me, what did you say?"

"You're not listening to me," She says with an annoyed tone.

"Honestly, Katniss, I was listening to your voice and thinking about how much I have missed hearing you over the past couple of years. And I am beyond excited about you and Jack coming to see me. I was thinking that maybe Saturday we can go to the aquarium and then, if he's not too tired, we can go to the Coca-Cola museum. Or even go to Six Flags?" he says, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. As they continue talking and making arrangements for the upcoming weekend, Peeta can't help but to feel a little bit of hope, too.

* * *

They are both amazed at how fast the week goes by. Soon it's Friday morning and Katniss is loading Jack into the jeep to make the four hour drive to Atlanta. She is hoping that since she woke him up so early that he will sleep some on the way down. Lucky for her, he's out less than thirty minutes into the trip. When she told Jack that they were going to go see the sharks in Atlanta he was so excited. He was more excited when he found out that they were going with his new friend Peeta. He had even thrown his little arms around her legs and told her that Peeta had said they were going to play together again real soon. He just didn't understand why he was four hours away from them when he wanted him to come back on Wednesday so he could show him where he fell on the playground and skinned his knee. He liked the Band-Aid that Ms. Annie had given him, but he wasn't so sure about one of the little girls named Hailey who kissed the Band-Aid so it would be all better. He also didn't understand why she wanted to hold his hand when they were having story time at the library. But he told Mommy that he let her so she wouldn't cry or hit him like she did the day before when he took his hand away. Jack had told her all in one breath that day.

Katniss calls Peeta when she exits off of I-85 in Duluth. He only lives 5 minutes away, but he wants to be looking for her jeep when she pulls up to the gate up so he can make sure she finds his townhouse. Peeta told her that he took the entire day off so he could be there when they arrived. She still can't believe that they are here. If Glimmer hadn't have practiced her deceit, would they still be together? Would they be in Atlanta or would he have taken that teaching job that the neighboring high school had posted in the university's art department? Katniss tries not to think about those things as she pulls up into his visitor spot.

He leaves his front step and comes to the driver's side of her Jeep. Before she realizes what he is doing, he opens the door, reaches in, helps her out, and envelopes her in a hug. She stiffens in surprise, then relaxes into his embrace. They embrace for a moment before she pulls away from him and reaches in to get her keys.

"I'm so glad that you are here. How was traffic?"

"Oh dear lord!" she exclaims. "Atlanta traffic drives me batty. I don't see how you drive in it every day." As she pulls away, and glances to where Jack is still asleep in the back seat, "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Anything I have is yours. How can I be of service?" he says with a bow.

Motioning towards Jack, she says, "He has been asleep since we left home. I really need to pee. Where is your bathroom at and will you hang out with him? Don't wake him up yet. Sometimes he gets confused and you might scare him."

"Go. As soon as you go in the front door, there is a bathroom at the bottom of the stairs." He calls after her since she has already taken off. Turning to look into the back seat, he sees the little mister still sleep. He remembers how Katniss told him that Jack was big enough for a booster and rode in one when he was riding around their hometown, but on long trips like this, she prefers for him to ride in the five point harness seat. This is the first time he has gotten to watch someone so perfect, well except for Katniss, sleep. He can see so much of her in Jack's face as he sleeps, although he gets small glimpses of Mellark too. At the moment, though, all he sees is Katniss.

Jumping in surprise when Katniss touches his arm, he laughs nervously. Trying not to stumble over his words, he starts to say something, but Katniss interrupts him and says, "He is so perfect when he sleeps. I know every parent says that, but it was in these moments over the past couple of years of watching him sleep, I knew…" and she just stops talking and looks around like she just said too much.

"What were you going to say Katniss?" he whispers in her ear.

"Peeta," she says with a longing in her voice, "I can't tell you that."

"Why not?" he whispers again.

Pulling away from him she starts to gather their luggage together so she can carry it into the townhouse, he soundlessly holds out his arms so he can help her carry the things in. She wordlessly hands him the luggage so she can wake up Jack. When she has him in her arms and Jack is in that place that small children go when they are neither awake nor asleep, and turns away from him, she makes her way into his town house.

Instead of talking to Peeta about what almost happened outside, she walks to the couch in his living room and sits down with a slowly awakening Jack. Opening his eyes, Jack slowly looks around the room. His eyes light up when they see Peeta, despite not recognizing anything else. "Mommy, is that Peeta? Are we at his house?"

She squeezes him tight, "Yes Bear. Remember I told you when we left home, that we are going to Peeta's house so he can take us to go see the sharks at the aquarium."

Meeting Peeta's eyes across the room, Jack wiggles out of his mommy's arms, is up in a flash, and attaches himself around Peeta's legs. Katniss isn't sure if Jack climbs up into Peeta's arms, or if Peeta picks him up, but, before she knows it, Jack gives Peeta one of his big, big hugs. She watches Peeta's eyes to see if she still knows him as well as she thinks she does, and yes there are tears in his eyes as well as hers.

Peeta is amazed at how Jack feels in his arms. There is only one other person who ever made him feel like a hug could be compared to coming home, and that is this little boy's mommy. Jack's little arms around his neck give him what he thinks is the best hug in the world. Feeling peace and unexpected contentment wash over him, he can't help the tears that come to his eyes. His hand automatically comes to rub Jack's back. Realizing that Jack isn't going to let him go, Peeta slowly makes his way over to where Katniss is still sitting on the couch. Sinking down beside her, he keeps rubbing. "Hey. Buddy." He pulls away slightly so he can try to see Jack's face and what he sees there takes his breath away. He can tell some of it is Jack waking up, but there is something else there, too. He just can't put his finger on it.

"What's a matter?" they both ask at the same time.

He gives both of them one of his wonderful smiles, "Nothing Mommy. I am just glad to see Peeta. I missed him so much. I even dreamed about him last night."

"You did?" asks Peeta. "What was the dream about?"

"I can't remember all of it," he mummers. "But me and you, we played a lot." He looks at Katniss. "You were playing too, Mommy. It was a good dream."

Katniss reaches out to her son and runs her fingers through his Mellark curls with a smile she reserves only for Jack. Peeta is momentarily swept away when he sees how much more beautiful that makes her. He feels a sudden longing for her to run her fingers through his hair the same way. "It sounds like a wonderful dream. Where were we in the dream?"

Leaning into his Mommy's scratching, he says, "We were at Papa's cabin. We even went swimming in the lake."

She laughs, "Yes Bear, you like to swim in Papa's lake. We will be taking Peeta there soon. I think he might be moving into the cabin for a little while."

Sitting up straighter in Peeta's lap, he squeezes Peeta's neck again in excitement. "You are going to live at my cabin? Can I live there too?"

"Now Bear, Peeta will be living there so he can go to work in Charlotte. We will see him when we see him."

Peeta glances at Katniss before he looks at Jack. "You can visit anytime you want to, Jack. Just get Mommy to bring you, and we can hang out and play."

Jack leans over to whisper to Katniss, "Mommy, I need to pee."

Katniss takes him over to the bathroom and offers to help him. After reminding Mommy that he is a "big boy" she walks back into the living room. There she finds Peeta picking up their bags in order to take them upstairs. She quickly crosses to help him. "Oh Peeta, I can get those."

"Katniss, its nothing, the bedrooms are upstairs. The guest room only has a full bed in it, so I'm going to sleep in there. You and Jack can sleep in my room, since it has a queen bed in there. I figured you would want to sleep with him and you have more room."

She starts blushing at the thought of being in his bed again. Even if it's with their son. "No Peeta, we can't take your bed from you. We can sleep in the guest room."

Snickering at her, "I figured that you would say that. I already moved some of my stuff in there so it's too late."

She rolls her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Peeta says. Jack has returned from the bathroom and Peeta reaches over to ruffle Jack's hair. He thinks to himself that he loves the soft texture of it, and starts up the stairs with the luggage. "Follow me. I will give you the grand tour."

While Peeta is showing them around his three bedroom townhouse, she can't help but notice that there is no color at all. The walls are white, the carpet and curtains are beige. "Hey Peeta," he turns to look at her, "Why is it so white and beige in here? I know once you made your mom mad when you took your allowance and painted your bedroom sunset orange because you could stand the white walls anymore."

Running his fingers through his hair he sighs, "Would you believe me if I said I have been too busy working? I moved here a year ago when the company said I could live in it and I work anywhere from 50 to 60 hours a week."

She sees the worn out look in Peeta's eyes and knows that he is telling the truth. Wanting to say something or even touch him she pushes those thoughts away. Instead she says, "I understand that. When I was opening the shop and leading hikes, all I did was work." She reaches out to place her hand on the top of Jack's head, almost to remind herself that he is still there and to ground herself. "Thankfully he was small enough to put in a sling and take along with me."

She sees the look that he gets on his face when he wants to know more, but instead he says, "I know you just got out of the Jeep, but would you like to take Jack somewhere to run off some energy and to get some lunch? I'm going to fix one of your favorites for supper tonight so we will come back here and eat later."

"Oh really?" she says with a small smile. "And what is for supper then?"

Smiling back, he replies, "Lamb stew and cheese buns."

When Jack hears this, he gets a big smile. "Mommy, how did he know that you like that?"

"Bear, I told you Peeta is an old friend of mine. And now he is a friend of yours. And friends know what each other's favorite things are."

Peeta clears his throat, "Well I'm hungry. Let's go find something to eat and go play."

As they are walking out the door, Peeta grabs a blanket so they can eat at the picnic area at Shorty Howell and then let Jack play. Katniss throws him her keys to the jeep telling him that he knows the traffic better and he knows where he is going so he can drive. They use the drive-through of a favorite fast food restaurant that Katniss and Jack never get to eat enough of because there aren't any close to where they live, then head to the park. Jack inhales his chicken nuggets and runs to play with the other kids while Katniss and Peeta sit and watch. They talk while they watch Jack play, but it's about who has gotten married and had kids and moved out of their small hometown. It's as if Peeta remembers not to ask Katniss the questions he wants to right now, and she is thankful that he is waiting until later.

It's a little later, when Katniss gathers Jack up. Peeta throws away their garbage, and they stop at the grocery store on the way back to the townhouse. Picking up some snacks for the aquarium tomorrow and some extra things for dinner, they have a little disagreement about paying. Katniss reminds him that she can pay; the shop is doing very well, and he reminds her that they are his company and after 4 years of working 55 hour weeks, he needs someone to spend his money on. And he wants it to be them. Katniss agrees with a huffed, "Fine, then." And they make their way back to the Jeep.

Katniss unpacks Jack's toys once they get back to the townhouse. She puts in his favorite DVD before she goes to help Peeta in the kitchen. She is not surprised all when they cook together like they did years ago when her mom worked the late shift and they cooked for Prim; She chops while he makes the bread. She is not afraid to tell him that she still knows the ingredients of cheese buns and she is happy to see them on the counter. It's about this time that Jack wonders into the kitchen and pulls up a chair beside Peeta and announces that he wants to help. With a smile bigger than the sunrise, Peeta gives his some dough and shows him how to knead it. She watches them while they work, and it makes her heart hurt for them not having this time together before now.

They take a walk around the gated community where Peeta lives after dinner. Even Peeta is surprised when they find a playground that he didn't know was there as Jack runs off to play on the swings. Glad that he is going to get to run off some extra energy before bed, they let him play until the sun goes down. When they finally catch him, Jack begs Peeta to carry him back to the town house and, before Katniss can tell Jack no, he is up Peeta's shoulders enjoying the view.

They make short work of getting Jack into his bath, and then in to Peeta's bed before making their way down stairs. Sitting on the couch, Katniss takes her shoes off and folds her legs under her as she takes a deep breath and rests her head on the cushion. Chuckling at her, Peeta asks, "I need a beer. Would you like one or I have wine too…"

"Wine," she blushes slightly for how fast she replied. "Wine sounds really good, Peeta. Thank you."

He disappears into the kitchen and she can hear the clinking of the glassware. She closes her eyes for just a moment until she hears him clear his throat. She gives him a grateful smile and sips in enjoyment while she watches him sit on the opposite end of the couch. "I love Jack. Don't get me wrong. But he has also taught me how to enjoy the peace and quiet."

He chuckles with her, "Yes I can see that. He has a lot of energy."

"Yes. I'm glad that Madge and Gale are close. Jack and Daniel can run off their energy with one another."

"How far apart are they? Wasn't Madge pregnant at graduation?" He glances at her while he approaches this carefully.

"Well I was too. I just didn't want you to see me. Daniel was born in October, then Jack that January. They are 3 months apart."

"I bet that's nice having the boys so close in age. Do they play a lot together?"

Katniss nods. "Oh, yes. Especially in the summer. They are both in Annie's class at the preschool and are inseparable there. But they both play with the other kids too. That's why when Jack was telling you about Hailey, I was surprised that he knows another kid's name in his class."

Peeta smiles, "Can I ask you something and you not get upset? It's just you haven't mentioned it, so I was wondering…"

"It's ok, Peeta. What is it?"

"When are you going to tell Jack that I'm his father? You haven't said when you are going to tell him, and I would like to be there…"

She sighs, "I've been thinking about it too. Honestly, I was going to wait until you were settled in your new place so we can figure out a schedule for sharing custody." She glances at where he is watching her from the other side of the couch. And decides to ask the question that she has been thinking too much about, "Do you think we need to get a lawyer?"

"I haven't really thought about it Katniss." He scoots closer to her and lays his hand on her arm before he continues, "Don't think about all of that stuff right now. I think we should take this a day at a time, a weekend at a time and see what happens. As for telling Jack, I will stand behind what you decide. I might be his dad, but you are his mommy. I haven't been there. You might tell him, and then he decide that he doesn't want anything else to do with me."

"Peeta don't talk like that! He's only four. He is going to be excited when we tell him. I think we should wait until later, though."

Peeta gives her arm a squeeze and then reaches for her empty wine glass. "Would you like some more? I think I want another beer."

"Yes, please. Are there anymore cheese buns left?"

He grins when he comes back from the kitchen with the bottle of wine, a beer and the cheese buns. "I still remember how to make you happy…"

Katniss's eyes grow big and she gives a nervous cough at his words but still manages to say, "Wine and cheese buns. I can be happy with that." she reaches for where Peeta has set them down on the coffee table.

He sits and drinks some of his beer, and asks, "Can I ask another question?"

She nods around a bite of the bread and then washes it down with a sip of wine. "What?"

"How is it that Jack knows Dad?"

"Do you remember me saying that my water broke at the grocery store?" Peeta gives her a nod and so she continues, "It was so cold that day. I got a buggy and went to go get some apples. I accidently collided with Dad's buggy, and that's when my water broke."

Peeta nods, "You said something about that last weekend."

"Mom had started working in Charlotte and Prim was taking a class in Asheville. I wasn't due for another two weeks. So Graham drove my Jeep to the hospital for me. He called Mom and Prim for me, and actually stayed with me until Jack was born. About three weeks later, he came by to visit Jack. Graham promised that he wouldn't say anything to you until I was ready to tell you." She knows that when that little vein in Peeta's forehead throbs like that, and he flexes the muscle in his jaw, that he's upset. She isn't sure what she should do, so she keeps talking, "When Jack was little he would come by the house. But when Jack got older, would meet in the park when we could. Oh Peeta, I know you are upset. I really don't know what to say except that I'm really sorry. And you did ask."

Peeta's eyes focus on her again. With the vein still throbbing and that muscle still flexing, he slowly says, "It's not you Katniss. It's me. I fucked up. It seems like everything that is remotely good in my life gets away from me, one way or another. Either I fuck it up or someone else takes it from me. I don't understand Dad keeping something like this away from me, but I guess we haven't been close in a long time." He gives a big sigh and drinks more from his bottle. "I have felt so alone for so long. I figured taking the Charlotte job would help with that…"

Katniss reaches over and places her hand on his arm, trying to comfort him somehow. "It's like you said, we are going to do this one day at a time. You have Jack now. And trust me, Jack won't let you be lonely for too long. At least he hasn't let me."


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok here we go with the thank you's. I need to thank sohypothetically. Without her, I would have already quit. This can be really hard sometimes… to jojo for scheming and adding to the madness with me. Allium for giving a quick read through. **

**Now before you start, I do have some business to take care of. I don't own anything. Just jack **** at least this version of him. Someone asked about the names that I am using. There are several fanfics that have named Katniss's dad Jack. So I borrowed that name too. As for Daniel, it just came when I first started writing. I know it seems kind of boring for a grandson of a Hazette, son of Gale, with Uncle's named Rory and Vick and an aunt Posy, to be named Daniel, but he is also Madge's son. And you will start to see more of him too in the coming chapters. And when I was writing chapter 6, and had Katniss first of all reaching for a bottle of Jack Daniel's, I realized what I did. (I did change it to Jim Beam) now… there are some things coming up in this chapter that may or may not have really happened. I may have changed the name's to protect the innocent. **

**So thank you dear reader for coming back. Your numbers humble me. Thank you. Thank you to the ones who follow, and have added me and Jack to your favorite list. **

* * *

The next morning, Katniss awakens to a very excited little boy. He won't stop chattering about how he needs to get dressed in his favorite Superman shirt and his cape so he can go see the sharks and the octopus and the jelly fish that his Ms. Annie told him to look for and she had told him that he has to count everyone one of them so he could can back to his class to tell them how many there were in the big tank and he is hungry and needs to go pee and could Mommy please come with him because he can't remember where Peeta said the bathroom is and is Peeta awake yet and after he went to the bathroom could they go see if Peeta was awake so they could go eat breakfast that Peeta was going to make for them and is Mommy getting up now please… he did after all have to do to the bathroom…

Picking her head up, Katniss points to the door leading into Peeta's bathroom. "Bear, Peeta's bathroom is through that door. And you need to remember to breathe when you talk that fast."

"Mommy, I am breathing." Jack says over his shoulder as he goes into the bathroom.

Katniss lays her head down again on that damn pillow that smells too much like Peeta. She doesn't want to admit that she slept better than she has in a long time, dreaming about a future with Peeta. She supposes that it's better than what she usually dreams about him; the dreams where he is screaming at her and taking Jack away from her. She passes Jack coming out of the bathroom.

"Jack, stay in here and wait for me and then we will go see if Peeta is asleep. Ok?"

"Yes, Mommy," he says as he sits on the bed. "Hurry, I'm hungry…"

Katniss is thankful that he remembers their talk about giving Mommy privacy in the bathroom now that he is a big boy. She hurries anyway.

They make their way out into the hallway and she points out to Jack that Peeta's door is open so he must already be downstairs. The wonderful smell that greets her is one she hasn't smelled in at least five years. "Come on Jack. Peeta has something yummy for us this morning."

The sight that greets her in the kitchen is a most familiar one. It's Peeta with his bed-head curls sticking straight up from where he hasn't showered yet, in his white t-shirt that he still wears to bed when it's chilly and a pair of shorts that are worn in all of the right places. Over all of that is his old apron that has a faded Mellark's bakery logo barely visible through the liberal dusting of flour. His face lights up when he sees them, and hers lights up even more when she sees the doughnuts on the counter.

Jack grabs a chair and drags it to the counter so he can get a better look. "Peeta! Are those doughnuts? Did you make all of them?"

"Good morning, buddy," Peeta greets him. "Yes I did. I told you I worked at the bakery with Dad… Mr. Graham. He taught he how to make doughnuts. I heard that you like them, so I made some for you and Mommy. Is that alright?"

"That's great, Peeta! I just wish you would have waited for me. I would have liked to help you."

"I'm sorry, Jack," Peeta apologizes. "Next time, buddy. I promise you can help me since you let me help you and Mommy make pancakes." Peeta then seeks her out where she is still standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "Good morning, Katniss," He mummers as she feels his gaze take in her bed-head and her tank top and boxers. "How did you sleep?"

How did she sleep? She can't tell him that she hasn't slept that well since he was in her bed holding her in his arms all night long. Instead she settles on, "Good, except when Jack here was trying to sleep on top of me."

"Mommy, I don't do that!"

"Yes, you do. You just don't remember it." She goes to pick up her favorite kind of doughnut, plain with a simple sugar glaze, "Peeta, we would have been happy with cereal. Thank you for this." Peeta gives her his sleepy but happy smile. Wait, when did she put his smiles into categories?

"It's been so long since I've baked, much less made doughnuts for anyone, I wanted to. I don't mind a bit."

"You haven't been baking? When was the last time?"

She watches him swallow nervously, and Peeta looks at Jack before he answers, "You, Katniss. You were the last one I made anything for."

She knows how much he loves to create, whether it's a painting or baking, so for her to hear him say that is shocking. She doesn't know what to say in return, so she instead asks Jack, "Is the doughnut good?" he gives her a nod in reply because his mouth is full. "Peeta, do you mind hanging out with Jack for a minute so I can jump in the shower?"

"No, go ahead. Jack and I will be ok. Won't we?"

Since his mouth is still full, all Jack can do is nod at her before she turns to go. She touches the top of his head, and says, "Just one more, ok, Bear?"

He takes a big drink of milk before he says, "But, Mommy, they are so good."

"I, know baby, but we have a busy day, and you don't need a tummy ache." She looks up to Peeta and gives him a quick, "Thank you," before she runs back upstairs.

* * *

They make to the aquarium by eleven a.m., and Peeta takes them to Thresh's office for the tour. Thresh is on the phone but quickly makes excuses, greets them and introduces them to Rue, his personal assistant. Since Thresh is in the middle of something, he gives Rue the task of taking them around the workplace. With Jack chatting excitedly about everything he sees, and Rue's cheery voice and demeanor, they know it's going to be a good day. Jack watches in silent awe when the sharks swim by in their tank, he counts as many jelly fish as he can like Ms. Annie asked him to, and falls in love with the octopuses. He stands totally still in awe when he spots the sea horses. Katniss estimates it's the longest he has stood still today. More significantly, he's quiet. That's how Katniss knows her Bear is in love with the ocean and its bounty of life.

By the time Rue has lead them through all of the exhibits, it is four o'clock and they have a very sleepy Jack. They know that Jack won't be able to go to the museum too, so they decide to head back to Peeta's townhouse. Katniss gets Jack buckled up in his seat and before they pull out of the parking lot, he is asleep. They each take a moment to enjoy the peace, before they find themselves starting to talk at the same time. Feeling at ease with him, she gives him a smile and says, "Go ahead. What are you going to say?"

He grips the steering wheel and checks the mirrors before he changes lanes on I-85, glancing at her before looking again at the road, "Thank you for letting me take Jack to the aquarium today. I know it isn't easy for you to share him with me." He reaches for her hand and before she realizes what he is doing, he brings her knuckles up to his mouth for a quick kiss, he puts her hand back on her thigh and says, "What were you going to say?"

Honestly, the kiss made her forget what she was going to say, so she says, "I'm sorry we didn't go to the museum like you wanted. Jack was just too tired. He wouldn't have been very good company."

Peeta chuckles. "Any day spent with the two of you is a wonderful day no matter how we spend it. I was wondering though, what time are you wanting to leave tomorrow to go back home?"

"Oh, I guess around lunchtime? Or even about ten? That way we can get home and rest some before Monday?"

Returning to the townhouse, Peeta wakes up a sleepy boy when he picks him up to carry him into the house. They cook dinner, and watch one of Jack's favorite movies that Peeta hasn't seen yet. This time it is much easier to get him into the bed since he is so very tired he instantly falls asleep as soon as his parents turn out the light. Peeta motions for Katniss to follow him back down stairs. He pulls out the old deck of cards they used to play with years ago out of the cabinet in the corner. Katniss recognized the Gatlinburg logo on the pack immediately. Madge had thrown it at her after she married Gale there, saying that it was her maid of honor's gift for being in their quickie wedding.

"I wondered what happened to these cards. I thought they were lost for forever."

Shuffling them together, Peeta says, "Somehow I ended up with them. I still don't know how. We spent all of our time at your house."

Katniss smiles a little at the memories. "Remember that time we scared Prim? She didn't talk to us for a week."

Peeta deals, "I remember that. Getting Rory to jump out at her after she had went to bed was hilarious. There was another joke too, wasn't there?"

"No she played the joke on you. She replaced all of the sugar with salt, so when you went to bake some chocolate biscuits for breakfast, they were just wrong. They didn't rise, they were hard as rocks and we couldn't eat them. You and Gale would throw them so I could use them as practice skeet before I went to the archery nationals that year." Katniss giggles.

"I remember those biscuits. I'm surprised that I even still tried to bake after that. I thought for sure it was all my fault. They almost gave me a complex." He laughs.

"Ha! If I remember correctly, it was right after that you had to bake that big cake for Cinna over in the next town. Wasn't it like ten layers or something like that? Didn't you even tell your dad that you wouldn't do it unless your mom wasn't in the shop?"

Peeta runs his fingers through his hair. "I just couldn't work on something that big with her there. She would stand there and nitpick and bitch about every little thing that I would do to a cake."

Sensing where the conservation could go, she takes control so it doesn't. Laying her hand on his arm to give him the comfort that she can. "Remember sitting in town? That was always so much fun."

"That was the best…" Peeta says with a wistful smile.

Katniss gives his arm a squeeze. "Do you remember climbing up Sae's Feed and Seed water tower?"

"My God, do I ever! We could see the entire town from up there!"

Laughing, Katniss says, "I thought we were going to jail that night."

Still laughing Peeta replies, "If it hadn't been for Gale doing his ride along for school we would have. I think he saw us up there, and told Darius to drive the other way so he wouldn't see us. The hardest part was coming back down."

"Oh, now Peeta, the ladder wasn't too hard to see in the dark. We helped each other."

"That isn't the reason why it was so hard to come down." He whispers all of a sudden very serious.

"It was dark but it wasn't that dark…" Katniss states in confusion.

He has that look again like he wants to do something but he knows he can't. "It was just me and you up on that water tower. It seemed like we were the only people in the world up there. Yes, I know it was one a.m. but for the ten minutes we were up there, the world was perfect."

Katniss remembers that night. Finnick had dared them that they wouldn't climb up there. It was peaceful and, while it was dark, it had been a full moon and she could see everything. "We were still in high school then. It was our senior year wasn't it?"

"Yea, even then I thought you were the most wonderful girl in the world. And even if I could just be your friend for the rest of our lives, I would be happy with getting to be in your life. Thank you, again, for letting me get to know Jack."

She doesn't know what to do when he says things like that. "Peeta," she says meeting his eyes, "Jack had a lot of fun today. Thank you for taking us." Not ready for where this conservation is going, she says, "Hey remember that night when we walked the train trestle almost all the way through the tunnel with only a miniature flashlight?"

Peeta decides to allow her once again to steer the conservation away from anything too heavy. "I still can't believe that we did that! I didn't think Annie was going to make it across the trestle, and then to actually go into the tunnel at midnight. Whose idea was it anyway to go there?"

"I think it was Finnick's? Didn't his Mamaw Mags tell him something about workers being buried in the cave? And he talked us into going to see if there was any ghosts?" Katniss chuckles at the memory. "Annie didn't want to go in the first place, then when we got to the tunnel, Finn had to carry her in. she had her hands over her eyes the entire time. Jo thought we were stupid for going, and then Thom jumped out and grabbed her in the middle of the tunnel and she broke his nose. You were ready to leave him there for being that stupid for scaring Jo in the first place."

"Thom wasn't the smartest. What is Jo up to these days? I haven't seen her since I left."

"Johanna is actually working in Canada as a lumber broker. She usually comes home around Christmas. She says that it's to warm up before it gets really cold up there. She loves it."

"Well she always did like being in the woods with you."

Katniss says with a laugh, "She liked to go out there and throw axes at squirrels. What worried me is that she stopped missing them." She looks over Peeta's shoulder at the clock on the microwave, "Oh crap! It's one o'clock in the morning!"

Peeta looks at the clock behind him. "Oh, wow it is. I know you are tired…"

"Oh but it's you who was right behind Jack all day. I know you are tired too."

Peeta stands, walks over to the light switch on the wall and turns it off. By this time Katniss is standing up and pushing her chair in so she can go to bed too. Peeta reaches for her hand, tucks it in his elbow and walks her upstairs. She giggles when he stops in front of his door and gives he gives her a little bow. "My dear, sleep well. And I will see you in the morning."

Katniss hesitates for just a minute before she wraps arms around his neck and then pulls away just as quickly. Before he can say anything about the hug, she goes into the bedroom and shuts the door behind her.

The bedside lamp is still on and Jack is asleep. She creeps into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. On her way to the bed, she passes Peeta's closet. Without thinking what she's doing she opens the door and turns on the light. It's a good-sized walk-in closet. "This would be big enough for my clothes too," she thinks before she can stop herself. Shaking her head to help get rid of those thoughts, she takes the couple of steps to where his t-shirts are hanging up. She brings her hands up and gathers some together and brings them to her nose. Breathing deeply, she lets the aroma wash over her. She feels those damn tears come again. They have lost so much. 'Is it too late to get it back?' she wonders. She even pulls one of his shirts off of the hanger, turns off the light and goes to join Jack in the bed. With Peeta's shirt pressed up against her nose she drifts off to sleep…

* * *

She is lying beside Peeta in the most wonderful dream, with her nose buried in his chest, smelling his scent. He starts to play with her hair as she moves up her nose to smell his scent at his neck. She drags her nose across the pulse point and gives it a soft kiss because she knows that he is extra ticklish at that spot. She doesn't hear his trademark chuckle, and starts to rise up so she can see his face. She is stopped by his fingers, which are still tangled in her hair. She feels the pull and then a voice that isn't Peeta's says, "Mommy, be still. I have your hair."

Her eyes fly open and she half-way turns to where she sees Jack lying behind her holding on to her braid. He always did that when he still slept with her. He must have been really tired for him to be holding her hair like that. Katniss gently lays back down and helps Jack untangle himself, then turns over so she can see him, "Are you ok, Bear?"

Jack snuggles closer so that his face is only inches away from hers. She can smell his little boy morning breath. "I good Mommy. Are we going home today?"

She scoots closer so that their noses almost touch. "Yes, Bear." She whispers, "Is that ok with you?"

"Yes, Mommy. But I'm not ready to stop playing with Peeta. Can he come home with us so he can play in my clubhouse with me?"

"We'll just have to see. Peeta might be come see us next weekend." A look of confusion passes across Jack's face and he starts to say something before she interrupts him, "We just have to wait and see. He is getting ready to start moving. I'm not sure how long that is going to take."

"K, Mommy. But he really does like to play with me, doesn't he?"

"Yes, bear. I think he does. What's a matter? Something is wrong…" she says as she worries about him.

"Nothing, Mommy. I just wish I could play with Peeta all the time. You can go do the hikes and Peeta can fix you supper and I can help him." He reaches over and puts his little hand on her cheek.

"Bear, why do you like Peeta so much?"

"Mommy, I told you! He listens to me. He likes to draw like I do. He likes my clubhouse. I want to be his friend."

"I know you do." She says smiling to herself. "And I know he wants to be yours. We need to get up. We need to start going home soon."

"Mommy! We can't go home today! I gotta play with Peeta some more. He still needs to draw with me." Jack said.

"Jack you know we have to go back today. Posy and Vick might need some help and Peeta has to start packing."

"But Mommy…"

"Jack, let's go and see what Peeta is doing. He might have made more doughnuts…"

* * *

Katniss and Jack don't go back Sunday. Peeta makes them waffles (and Katniss and Peeta both don't miss that this is the second Sunday in a row they are eating breakfast together. Katniss tries not to panic at the thought, while Peeta thinks he could get used to this.) While they eat, Peeta tells them that he has tickets for Six Flags that are in danger of going to waste. Jack doesn't know what Six Flags is, but it means spending the day with Mommy and one of his new favorite people. So, when Jack turns to beg her for permission to go, she really can't tell him no. especially since Peeta looks like he's about to join in. she calls Posy and Vick to see if they can handle the Monday morning opening stuff until she can get there.

They head to Six Flags, where they ride all of the rides that Jack could possibly want. When Katniss mentions that it's about time to go, Jack asks if he could ride just one more. Katniss tries to explain to him that they are going to ride the sky buckets across the park so they can leave.

Jack is so tired that tears well in his eyes when he says, "Mommy can't I just ride the airplanes one more time? Please mommy?"

Katniss is about to give in and let him ride just one more ride when Jack decides he is tired of waiting for her answer. He stomps his foot and throws down the stuffed dog Peeta helped him win.

"Young man, you may not stomp your foot at me. Pick up the dog, it's time to go."

"No, Mommy. I'm going to ride the airplanes."

"No, Jack," she says trying to keep her voice calm. "I said its time to go. You may not stomp your foot at me, and you may not treat your toys that way. Now pick it up and let's go."

Jack, looks down, picks up his stuffed dog, and says to her, "If my daddy was here he would let me ride more rides." He walks off towards the sky buckets.

Katniss feels her stomach drop at his words. Not wanting to look at Peeta, she follows Jack to where the line starts. The joyful mood of the day is gone, chased away by Jack's words. By the time they have made their way back across the park to Katniss's Jeep, Jack is sound asleep on Peeta's shoulder with the stuffed dog clutched tightly against his chest. Peeta buckles him up, and joins Katniss.

Her mind races trying to think of something to say to Peeta when he interrupts her thoughts, "I'm sorry he said those things to you. He doesn't know that he hurts you when he says those things."

She looks at his face as he gets them on the road to the townhouse. Looking for something in his expression to give her a clue as to what he is feeling, she says, "Its ok. He is over tired from yesterday and today. I'm sorry you had to see one of his meltdowns. And I'm sorry you had to hear what he said."

"It's ok. I understand your reasoning for not telling him yet. But this is something that all of us have to get used to. And it's going to take time. I just hope that he accepts me as…" he glances in the rearview mirror to make sure that Jack is really asleep before he finishes, "His father." He whispers.

"When we do tell him, he is going to be so excited. He really is. I just hope that he doesn't get mad at me." She says fighting the sudden tears. She thought she was ready for Peeta to come back into her life. After this weekend, she isn't so sure. It feels so good being with him. Many times it is like the mess with Glimmer had never happened.

Peeta makes a sudden turn into a fast food parking lot. Putting the Jeep into park, he turns to look at her. "You are a great mom," he says loud enough so she can hear him but low enough so he won't wake up Jack. "Don't ever doubt that. That sweet boy of yours loves you more than anything. And you are protecting him. He might not understand everything at first, but one day he will. We will be there to help him through this. I will do anything and everything I can to help you, too." She starts to protest at those words, but he continues, "I'm not just talking about money. But emotional support too. I'm ready to be his dad. We are going to do this one day at a time, like you said, until we figure this out."

She doesn't trust her voice because of the tears running down her face. All she can do is nod. Peeta reaches over and gives her hand a squeeze and then starts to drive again.

Peeta makes one more stop- this time at a grocery store. He tells Katniss to stay put while he runs in. she is glad for the time to think. A lot has happened. He quickly comes back and continues on the way back to the townhouse. Katniss watches the buildings rush by as Peeta drives. A lot has happened this weekend and she still isn't sure what is going on. She absolutely hates that Peeta heard what Jack said. She knows that when he builds up his father in his head and heart like that, it's not good. Especially since Peeta is now here. Peeta is a great guy, and all that, but he isn't the super hero that Jack sometimes wishes for. Maybe she needs to talk to Annie? She is, after all, the one with the degree. And didn't she do some kind of internship with a child psychologist?

Her thoughts are interrupted when Peeta pulls up to the gate and stops to enter his code. The gate swings open and he pulls over to his townhouse. Without saying a word, Peeta goes to pick up Jack and motions for Katniss to pick up the groceries. He hands her the keys and follows her up the walk to the front door. When they enter, she motions for Peeta to just lay Jack down on the couch instead of walking him all the way to the bedroom. She goes into the kitchen to put the food up, and she hears him behind her. She is getting ready to say something about how loud he still is when she notices what she is pulling out of the bags: a package of chicken and some oranges. With a questioning look, she turns to Peeta.

"It's a new recipe. I heard Cato talking at work about how he had taken Clove out to a new restaurant and it sounded so good, I came up with what I'm going to fix. It's quick and easy." He steps around her to the drawer to get his knife and his cutting board so he can start chopping everything up.

"Can I help?" she whispers.

"Why don't you go get cleaned up. I can get this."

She gives a quiet, "Thank you." She makes her way upstairs taking her purse with her. She goes into Peeta's bedroom she pulls out her cell phone, scrolls quickly through the names, and types,

Katniss: How are you?

Annie: Hey! I'm alright. Are you and Jack home?

Katniss: No actually we stayed one more day, so Jack won't be at school tomorrow. Can we get together without Jack and have a talk? I think I need some help.

Annie: You know if there is anything I can do, I will. Is everything ok?

Katniss: I think so? I don't want to hurt anyone else if I can help it. I just need to make sure I'm doing this right…

Annie: You are the mama… you do what you feel like you need to do. I'll see you Tuesday, maybe we can talk then? If you want, bring Madge?

Katniss: Thanks! I'll see you Tuesday.

Annie: Oh and Finnick said that he wants all of the juicy details when you get back.

Katniss: Lol! He will be the first one I tell all of my secrets to, but he already knows them all… ;)

Annie: Ha! Yes, he does.

Katniss: I'll see you Tuesday…

Annie: Sounds good. Be careful driving back.

Katniss: I will. Thanks again.

As she is plugging in her charger, she hears heavy footsteps coming down the hallway. She gives him a weak smile and wonders what he wants as he comes into the room. He starts to sit on the bed beside her, but instead goes over to the easy chair he has in the corner.

Looking around nervously he says, "The chicken will be ready in about an hour. Are you ok? You don't look ok."

Reaching up to rub her temple, "I feel like I'm trying to get a headache. I just hope it's a hungry headache and not stress..."

Peeta goes into the bathroom and comes back with a hot washcloth and gives it to her. Not saying a word, he arranges the pillows on the bed and mutters, "I'll be right back…"

He comes back in a minute with one of the cheese buns he made and a glass of iced tea. He sits beside her on the bed where she has already reclined on the pillows with the washcloth across her forehead and watches her as she takes a bite. She wants to say something, but can't find the words. Instead she watches him for a minute.

She realizes that he has finally grown into his face. The baby fat that used to be there around his cheek bones has faded away. She wonders if Jack will look like this when he is Peeta's age, since everything else of his is so much like Peeta's. She looks into Peeta's eyes and sees his eyelashes. She was always so jealous of his eyelashes. It isn't fair that a boy, no a man, would have eyelashes so perfect.

She feels herself go red when she realizes that Peeta is talking to her. "I'm sorry what did you say?"

"I said to close your eyes and rest, it will help you feel better. I'll come and get you when dinner is ready…"

He starts to stand but she reaches out and grabs his arm. "Wait… can you stay and talk to me for a minute? Or better yet, what have you been sketching lately?"

He walks over to the bookshelf, picks up the notebook that is lying there, and comes back to sit by her. "I really don't have time to sketch much, but I have been, do you remember that project we had in high school where we had to collect leaves and categorize them?"

She gives a little nod and he continues, "Well, I was looking for something to help me to relax and I came across some old notebooks where I had practiced drawing leaves. So I drew a couple of them and before, I knew it, I had filled up half of this notebook."

Katniss adjusts the washcloth on her head and closes her eyes. Before she goes to sleep she says before she can stop herself, "Stay with me?"

And then she is fast asleep before she hears Peeta's reply.

* * *

She isn't sure how long she sleeps. All she knows is that, when she wakes, there is a little warm body lying on top of her, whispering to someone else in the room. She slowly opens her eyes and see's Peeta and Jack on the bed with her. Peeta sits on the other side, Jack is on top of her. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Mommy! You must have been tired!" Jack wiggles around so he can see her eyes. "I'm sorry for stomping my feet at Six Flags."

"Thank you, Jack." She says and then gives him a kiss and then gives Peeta a questioning look.

"Not long. Maybe forty-five minutes? Jack woke up about fifteen minutes ago and helped me finish supper. Then we came up here to check on you. Its ready, if you are ready to eat."

Rubbing her eyes, she sits up with Jack rolling off of her onto the bed. "Let me go freshen up and I'll be downstairs, ok?"

Peeta picks up Jack, throws him over his shoulder, and says in a silly voice that Katniss has never heard before, "Come on Mr. Jack. Let's go fix Mommy a plate of the chicken yumminess that awaits her downstairs." He walks out into the hallway followed by Jack's giggles as they go down stairs.

She joins them several minutes later just as Jack is setting the glasses on the table. "Where do you want me to sit, Jack?"

"Sit there, Mommy. I'll sit beside you, and Peeta will sit beside me. Doesn't Peeta have a little table?"

Peeta laughs, "Jack, can you believe that since I moved in here, you and Mommy are the only ones I've had over? That is why I have a little square table."

He then brings over the plates of food. On each plate is a bed of rice, topped by a delicious-smelling piece of chicken smothered in a sauce that had pieces of oranges in it. Next to the chicken are new baby peas with baby onions and fresh rolls made to look like flowers.

"Jack did you help Peeta with this?" she asks. It all looks so amazing and she is proud that Peeta let Jack help him.

Jack sits up a little straighter in his chair. "Yes, Mommy. I measured the rice and helped cut out the flowers for the rolls. And then I helped put the rolls on the pan. I wanted to stir it up, but Peeta said I can't stir until I can reach the pot with my feet on the floor."

Katniss looks to Peeta with a question so he cuts in, "it was a rule Dad had. We never got burnt so I figured it was a good rule."

Picking up her fork, she says, "It sounds like a very good rule. Can we eat?"

Jack and Peeta pick up their forks too, and answer her by digging in.

After dinner, Katniss does the dishes while Peeta sketches with Jack at the table behind her. She tries not to get lost in her thoughts but her mind wanders to everything that is happening. All of this has been very overwhelming, but she is glad that Jack has spent some time with Peeta, even if he thinks Peeta is just a new friend. When she finishes, she turns to see the blonde heads bent over the paper and pencils on the table. They are being very quiet. She steps closer so she can peek over Jack's shoulder to see what they are doing. To her surprise, Jack is drawing a picture of her. Well she can see where Peeta has drawn the basic outline, but what he is showing Jack now is how to add detail. She watches amazed as Jack starts to fill in the details of her pants and then he moves on to the braid she wears over her right shoulder. She smiles at the pride that is on Peeta's face. She decides to leave them alone and heads to the couch to read that paperback she put in her purse at the last minute.

Katniss reads several chapters before the boys interrupt her. Jack comes bouncing beside her and slowly hands her the finished picture. It takes her breath away. It's still a four-year old's picture, but with the details that Peeta helped him with, it's amazing. She lays the picture down on the coffee table and brings Jack in for a hug. "I love it, Bear. Thank you for sharing it with me."

Jack pulls away and looks nervous for a minute before he says, "Mommy, can I leave it with Peeta? He did help me lots."

Katniss pulls him close again and kisses the top of his head. "You are the best little boy I know. If that's what you want to do, then that is alright with me."

Jack picks the picture up and takes it to Peeta. Peeta says, "Hey Jack, can you follow me?"

When Jack nods, they both turn to go upstairs. Peeta looks over Jack's head and motions for Katniss to come too. Peeta leads them upstairs to the extra door in the hallway. Its Peeta's home office. Inside is Peeta's home office, complete with a large desk and big leather chair. He goes to sit in the chair and opens up a drawer and pulls out a portfolio. She can't see what exactly he has in there, but something on the top looks like it was drawn by Peeta. He carefully collects the drawing from Jack, and places it right on top. Zipping it closed he says, "I can't hang it up yet, Jack, because I'm getting ready to move. But as soon as I'm settled, I'm going to hang it up. I promise."

Jack looks up at her when Peeta says that with so much pride on his face that it takes her breath away. She ruffles his hair, "Let's go take a quick shower and go to bed. It's already 8:30 and we have to go home tomorrow."

"Do we have to, Mommy?" he says with the little boy, I'm-so-very-tired whine.

"Yes, we do. Peeta has to go to work and you have to go to school and I have to work. Now go."

After she helps Jack out of the shower and everyone has kissed Jack goodnight as per his request. Katniss pauses in the hallway, and Peeta looks at her questioningly. She puts her finger to her lips and motions for him to step towards the bedroom. They peek around the corner to see that Jack is already asleep. "Well Peeta, I think this weekend is the quickest I have seen my child to go to sleep. Are you bribing him?"

"No, I think we are just wearing one another out. Come on," he starts to lead her downstairs, "I have some hot chocolate for you…"

They talk some more that night about the going-on's in their small hometown. They don't talk for too long, knowing that they both have a busy Monday ahead of them. She wishes him good night as he goes into his office instead of the spare bedroom where he has been sleeping. She goes to take a shower and then to bed. It's about three hours later, when she rolls over to go to the bathroom, and notices the light for his office is still on. After going to the bathroom, she tiptoes over to where she can peek inside. Peeta is bent over one of his sketch pads drawing as fast as he can. He must have felt her or heard her shuffle, because he looks up in that minute. Surprised to see her there he jumps a little and then smiles at her. "You are going to give me a heart attack one day doing that. I'm going to have to get you a bell to wear or something so I can hear you coming."

She rolls her eyes at him, and says, "Ha-ha, Peeta. What are you doing awake?"

He stretches, and looks at the clock on his desk. "Oh, damn. I lost track of time." He lays down his pencil, turns off the little lamp on his desk, and walks to her.

She turns to go back, when he interrupts her. "Katniss, wait…"

He stops himself from whatever he was about to do with a head shake. "It's nothing. Never mind. Good night and sleep well." He heads into the guest room closing the door behind him. She goes back to lay back down with Jack. At first she thinks that she won't be able to go back to sleep, then the next thing she knows is the alarm is waking her up.

* * *

**Look another author note! Just wondering… did you catch the little things taken out of cannon? I wonder if you caught them all… oh! and before I forget, I know normally you don't put sugar in biscuits. but if you are making them sweet for like cinnamon rolls, or making chocolate biscuits like Peeta is, then you would. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Here it is folks. Chapter 11. And this is a big chapter. A BIG one. Oh and this is when the rating changes too. I need to thank everyone… sohypothetically, my dear, thank you. One day, I will put all of the comma's in the right places. But I will still want you to beta for me as long as you want to. Thank you to nonnie and jojo for reading. **

**and I don't own anything! esp the Biltmore house which is mentioned in this chapter! or the Vanderbilt's!**

* * *

Katniss plans on leaving Peeta's by six in the morning, hoping that she will be out of Atlanta by the time heavy traffic starts. Jack, however, is not a happy boy getting up that early. Peeta, dressed in his jeans and a t-shirt instead of his suit, helps her to pack up the Jeep, including left over doughnuts and cheese buns for the ride home.

Katniss brings the still half-asleep Jack down stairs. She manages to get him dressed, and he holds the stuffed dog- named Paprika- that peeta won for him yesterday in a tight hug. When Jack sees Peeta waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, he bursts into tears. Katniss looks to Peeta in confusion and sits down on the bottom step so she can see what's wrong.

"Bear, what's a matter?" she asks soothingly.

He hiccups and sobs at the same time and hides his face against her chest. She rubs his back and looks to Peeta. He joins them on the bottom step and before he can say anything, Jack is on his lap and hugging him, even dropping Paprika in the process. Peeta hugs him back and doesn't say anything for a moment. Then he leans down and whispers, just loudly enough for katniss to hear too, "Hey, Bear. I need you to ride home with Mommy today. I know you don't want to go…"

Jack hiccups and looks up at Peeta. "I do want to go home. But I want you to come with me. I want you to go play in the tent with me, and play with Daniel with me and go to school with me and teach me to bake cheese buns and go to Papa's cabin with me…"

Peeta gives him a grin and pulls him into a squeeze. "I would love to do all of those things with you. But first I have to pack." He reaches over and wraps his arm around Katniss so she can be a part of the hug too. "And you and Mommy have to get back to Panem. If everything goes if everything goes as planned, I should be able to come visit you on Friday."

"When is Friday?" Jack hiccups.

Katniss runs her fingers through his curls. "Today is Monday. Do you remember what the rest of the days are?"

"Monday, Tuesday, Thursday…"

"Wednesday and then Thursday…" Katniss softly reminds him.

"Wednesday and then Thursday," he repeats. He sits up and says excited, "Then Friday! Right Peeta? Then it's Friday?"

He smiles at the now excited little boy. "Yes and then Friday. I'm going to pack the stuff that I don't want the movers to pack, and then get out of their way. I should be in Charlotte by Thursday if not Friday. Then I'll head to Panem…"

"Where are you going to stay? Have you decided yet?" Katniss asks.

"I had thought about just getting a hotel for now."

"No. You have to go to Papa's cabin. Then we can swim," Jack interrupts.

"Jack, hang on for a minute. Let Peeta figure out what is going on with his job stuff first. He will keep us posted. Peeta, you are welcome to stay at the cabin until you can find something else. There is no reason why you should have to stay in a hotel room."

He squeezes her shoulder where he still has her in a side-hug. "Thank you, Katniss. Jack, are you, ok, now?"

Jack snuggles into his arms, gives a little nod and asks, "Where is Paprika?"

Katniss picks up the dog and gives it back to Jack. "There you go. We've got to go, Bear."

Peeta stands up with Jack still in his arms. "Do you have everything?"

She smiles at Jack in his arms, nods and follows Peeta out to the Jeep. After Jack is secure in his seat, Peeta whispers, "See you soon," with a little kiss on his forehead, and turns to Katniss. Before he has a chance to over-think what he is about to do, he gathers her in his arms for a hug. He is grateful when she returns it. Allowing himself for just a moment to smell the top of her head just one more time, he slowly lets her go. He runs his hands down her arms, feels the goose pimps on her that his touch causes, and when he comes to her hands, she allows him to hold them.

"Let me know when you get home, ok?"

She nods. "Of course. Are you going to work now?"

"There are some things I need to do here first. I'm technically the manager of the Charlotte office now so my job is to move this week, make sure Effie hasn't burned down the office, and tell everyone goodbye."

"I'll be seeing you on Friday." She reaches into the Jeep and digs into her purse. Finding what she is looking for, she hands him a set of keys. Recognizing the bear that her dad had carved so long ago, he knows that it's the keys for the cabin. "If you want to stay at the cabin, fine. If not, that's fine too. Just give them back to me when you are done."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Peeta. It might be a little dusty, but everything still works and it even has Wi-Fi." She is interrupted when Jack says something but she can't make it out through the closed windows of the Jeep. "Well I need to go before traffic gets too bad."

After another whispered good-bye, he watches her drive with their son. Not wanting to think about what is going on, he gets his keys from his pocket, gets in his truck and goes to find boxes so he can pack his office and his kitchen.

* * *

He is in the middle of packing his grandfather's cookie cutters when his phone rings. He digs it out of his pocket and can't fight the grin when he sees that it's Katniss.

"Hello…"

"Hey," she says breathlessly, "I just got home…"

"Are you, ok? You sound out of breath…"

"Yea, I had to run in the house because me and Jack both had to pee," she says with a giggle.

"Well good. I'm glad you made it home then. How was traffic?"

"It wasn't too bad. Jack slept some, but he mostly talked about how much fun he had. Thank you, again, for this weekend."

"Anytime, Katniss. I think I will take you up on your offer of letting me use the cabin."

"When do you have need to be in the Charlotte office?"

"That is what I'm still figuring out. Would it be alright if I went to the cabin Wednesday? Would you know of any storage places close to it? I need to find a place for my furniture."

"What about Haymitch? He put in some storage buildings last year. Or would that be too far away?"

"No actually that might be perfect. The company is paying for all of this since they want me to transfer. And since they want me there so quickly, they are willing to pay for storage until I find a permanent place to live."

"Well that's nice. I hate to cut this short, but I just got to the shop and I need to go check on everything…"

"Go ahead. I know you need to catch up. I'm going to finish packing and go into the office for a little bit. I'll talk to you later."

"Oh, Peeta? I just wanted to thank you again for this weekend. I know it was busy but I know that Jack enjoyed getting to play and hang out with you."

"Well I enjoyed getting to know him. He really is a great little guy. You have done a great job with him."

"Thanks Peeta, Posy needs me, I'll talk to you later."

* * *

By the time Wednesday does roll around, Peeta has packed his office (including his art work), his clothes, most of his kitchen; well the parts he took from the bakery over the years, and his desk at work. The movers agree to meet him Saturday in Panem at the storage buildings Haymitch has behind his store.

Peeta gets to the cabin around sunset, which, for this time of year is getting closer and closer to dinnertime. When he pulls up into the driveway he is surprised to see Katniss's Jeep sitting in the driveway. He has just turned the truck off when Jack comes barreling out of the cabin.

"It took you for forever to get here, Peeta! Where were you?"

"Hey, buddy! What are you doing here?" Peeta says, giving Jack a hug as he gets out of the truck.

"We came to give the cabin a quick dusting for you," Her voice comes from behind him surprising him. He turns to see Katniss standing there.

"You didn't have to do that. But I do appreciate it." He ruffles the top of Jack's head and shuts the truck door. "And it's always good to see Jack."

Katniss smiles at them and turns to lead them into the cabin. "We went on ahead and dusted and mopped and wiped the counters down. There are some things in the pantry, and you do have toilet paper."

"Thank you for that," Peeta says with a grin. "I stopped and did get some groceries. When are you going back to Panem?"

Jack starts bouncing, and looks up at Katniss with pleading eyes. "Mommy can we stay here with Peeta? Please?"

"Jack, I just don't know…"

"Katniss, you and Jack are more than welcome to stay. It won't bother me a bit…"

Katniss looks into the back of his truck and sees his boxes and luggage. Reaching in, she grabs his carry on, hands it to Jack and then grabs a suitcase and says, "Well, let's get the truck unloaded. Then I think there might enough stuff in there for veggie soup and grilled cheese."

After they get the truck unloaded, Katniss starts dinner while Jack and Peeta start to unpack some of his office and art things. After she calls them to the table to eat, they comfortably chat back and forth like they have always eaten meals together.

After they do the dishes, they notice that its 7:30. Katniss still has an hour drive ahead of her, and starts to get ready to go. Jack starts to beg, "Mommy, can't we stay here with Peeta? Just for one night? Posy and Ms. Annie won't care if they don't see us tomorrow. Please Mommy. Peeta might be lonely here in papa's cabin all by his self-tonight."

Not knowing what to say, Katniss looks to Peeta for help. "Peeta might have a lot to do tonight…"

Peeta pulls her to where he can whisper into her ear, "Whatever you feel like doing is fine with me. I know it's getting late, and I would love you have you and Jack spend the night."

She doesn't want to admit to anyone especially herself how much she has missed Peeta the past couple of days. So she gives in to Jack's pleas and says, "Ok then. I guess we are spending the night…"

* * *

After Jack is asleep, Katniss wanders outside to the back deck that overlooks the lake to see the full moon. It never ceases to amaze her that she can sit here on the deck that she remembers her dad building looking at the same stars they did when she was little. And now here she is sharing all of this with her son… well she does when he is awake, anyway. She pulls the throw she grabbed off of the back of the couch tighter around her to ward off the chill when she hears Peeta coming behind her.

"Its chilly up here isn't it?" he says.

"You're not in Atlanta anymore. You are back in the mountains. We don't have all of that concrete and asphalt to keep warm."

"You know, I think you might be right about that. I think I have forgotten how beautiful it is here."

She moves to sit on the wicker couch and Peeta follows her to sit beside her. She brings her legs under her and covers the both of them with the throw. Scooting closer to him for warmth, she tucks herself under his arm, close to his side. Not sure if it's Peeta, being here at the cabin, or what, she feels herself relaxing for the first time in weeks.

"Did I ever tell you how the Everdeen's got this property?" Katniss asks.

"No, I don't ever think you did."

"My great-great-grandpa was one of the foremen when George Vanderbilt was building the Biltmore house. It was one day after work, some of the men decided that they wanted to play poker. Well they played several hands and then noticed that George had joined them. He asked to be dealt in. They played several more hands, and before long it was George and Grandpa who were the only ones who were left playing. Grandpa had a flush, and George had a full house. Of course George thought he was going to win, but Grandpa knew he was going to. So the men made their final bet with George putting in the deed to this land. Grandpa showed his hand, and won much to everyone surprise. George was upset, but he was a gracious loser. He shook Grandpa's hand and congratulated him for being such a good poker player. Even after that George would still come and play poker with the men after work. They ended up being good friends. George just had one stipulation on the win- that if we decide that we didn't want the land anymore, we would have to give the Vanderbilts first dibs on it."

"Is it true?" he asks.

"I have no idea," she says with a laugh. "Prim and I used to pretend that we were long-lost Vanderbilt's when we would go to the Biltmore house."

"I remember you when you were little. You and Madge would play together on the playground. I would always watch you." He laughs at himself and says, "Now I sound like a creeper. I even remember you on the first day of school…"

She pushes herself up so she can look at him. "You do not," she says accusingly.

Peeta looks for her eyes in the moonlight. "Yes, I do. You had two braids and a red plaid dress. That shade of red besides sunset orange is still my favorite. You came into kindergarten with your mom and Prim."

"Peeta, how…"

"And on that first day," he continues, "You stood up in music and sang that old song… you know the one about the meadow?"

Katniss looks away from Peeta. She's not afraid of the song, or the memory anymore- not like after Daddy died. It's another gift that Jack has given her. She begins to sing,

"_Deep in the meadow, under the willow_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow_

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes_

_And when again they open, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm_

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you._

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away_

_A cloak of leave, a moonbeam ray_

_Forget your woes and let your troubles lay_

_And when again its morning, they'll wash away_

_Here it's safe and here it's warm_

_And here is the daises guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you."_

Katniss doesn't even feel the tears falling down her cheeks, but Peeta sees. He doesn't say anything and just holds her close. Gently he kisses her tears away. and then before she knows what is going on, there is his kiss that is gentler than the wind off of a butterfly wing caressing her lips. Not thinking, her tongue begs entrance to his mouth. Not able to tell her no, even in this, he opens his mouth and lets her in. Letting her establish the pace of the kiss, he follows what she is doing. He brings his hands up to her face and gently holds her there while he starts to explore what he has missed for so long. She brings her hands up to his wrists; he has a moment of panic when he thinks she is going to break the kiss. Instead, she deepens it while hanging on to him for dear life.

He kisses her along her jaw until he reaches her ear. He bites her ear lobe and then gives it a not so gentle tug. Sucking it into his mouth, he feels her shiver from excitement. He returns to her mouth to go kiss her again. When she sighs into the kiss, that she realizes what they are doing. She pulls away with a gasp. "Peeta! We can't… we shouldn't… I can't do this!" she says in a rush.

Peeta blinks his eyes and starts to come out of his daze, says, "What do you mean we can't do this? I have missed you so much. This, you is all I want. Please," he moves to kiss her again, "Let me have you?"

Katniss jumps up and backs away from him. "No, Peeta. We can't. There is no 'us' there will never be an 'us' again."

Shock fills his features and heartbreak fills him. Not even thinking he asks, "But why Katniss? Why can't we try again?"

Even in the dark of the moonlight, he can see the fear fill her eyes. "I can't let you leave me again. I can't let you leave Jack again." He hears her voice begin to break, "I know I'm not making any sense, but even though you didn't really cheat, I'm still getting used to the thought that you didn't. I'm sorry Peeta, but I can't let that happen to me and to Jack again. I'm sorry."

"Katniss," he takes a deep breath, willing his own voice not to break too, "This time with you and Jack reminds me how much I still need you. We have missed so much. You are the only one I love. I need you in my life. I want you anyway I can get you. Even if it's just as friends." He stands and turns to go back into the cabin. "Goodnight, Katniss."

She pulls the throw tighter around her and sits back down on the wicker couch. She can't stop thinking about what just happened. He kissed her. Peeta Mellark just kissed her. And she doesn't know what to do. A part of her wants to grab Jack, get into her Jeep, and run as fast as she can back to Panem. But then there is a part of her that remembers what it's like to be in his arms, in his bed. She hates the sayings about finding your other half, and that you aren't complete until you met 'the one'. She didn't feel that way about Peeta. Peeta made her better. She thinks about all of the times they had together before they broke up. The friendship, the love, the nights where all they could do was stay wrapped with each other, not wanting to ever let go. She doesn't notice the tears that stream down her face. Letting the emotions she has been holding back over the years wash over her, Katniss finally let's herself feel everything she has held back. She has missed Peeta so much that this is really the first time since he left town she has let herself feel the loss and betrayal. She finally lets herself mourn for Peeta.

Its only when Prim texts that she realizes that she has been sitting there for over an hour. She answers her, and goes in to go to bed. The cabin might look small on the outside, but the kitchen, dining area and living room are one big area. Then on one side of the living room is two bedrooms, and on the other side is another two with an adjoining bathrooms in between each bedroom. Since she comes as much as work allows her to, Jack has his own room on one side and she does too. That leaves two other bedrooms for company. She peeks in on Jack, and to cover him up from where he has kicked the covers off. Then she heads across the living room to her room. Peeta claimed the bedroom beside hers, and is in there asleep with the door open to help circulate the heat in case it kicks on during the night. She steps inside of the doorway to watch him for a moment. She notices that the window above the bed is open, letting in a chill. She creeps over to the window to close it just a little bit when the squeak that the window makes wakes Peeta up.

"Katniss? What are you doing? Is this real?" he says, sitting up in bed looking at her.

"I didn't mean to wake you. But it's getting colder out there. I was just going to close this window half way…"

He falls back against the pillows. He reaches out to grab her arm and pulls her to sit on the bed beside him. "I'm sorry for what happened outside on the porch. I don't want you to push me away. And I know that Jack needs both of his parents right now."

She wants to get as close as possible to him, not push him away anymore, and to welcome him back into her life. Not having the words to say this, she instead leans forward to kiss him.

The kiss lasts for as long as it takes for him to grab her arms and to pull her away from him so he can look into her eyes. It takes him just a moment to read what he sees there, even if she doesn't know it herself, and then he has brought her back to him to begin kissing her again. All she can think about, is how much this feels like home to her.

Peeta gives her a little flip over him to where she is lying on her back in the bed. He settles in between her legs and gazes at her again before he lowers his lips to hers. Her fingers find his curls and she gives him a solid tug, pulling him even closer to her. He follows the same path he was on earlier to her ear. Not wanting to say anything to break the spell, but he has to know, he whispers in her ear, "Are we really doing this?"

Instead of trusting herself to speak, she gives him a push back and sees the confusion on his face. To answer him, she gives a little wiggle while she takes off her shirt. Relief floods his face and that is all the encouragement Peeta needs as he helps her with her pants. Before she knows what he is doing, he reaches over and turns on the bedside lamp. She starts to protest, when he captures her lips instead, and then mummers, "Please, I haven't seen you in so long, you are so beautiful, and all I want to do is to see you."

He barely gives her a chance to nod when he claims her lips again. Wanting to just touch her, he does until he finds her bra. He feels the hooks on her back, and soon he is easing it off of her. She brings up her hands to cover herself, but he stops her with another kiss. He leans back for just a minute to look at her. How many nights did she bring him sweet dreams, only to wake up with her not there. That was his reality for so long. And now, here she is. It all feels like a dream.

He lowers his head to finish kissing her. She gasps and giggles when he finds the spot on her neck that is so sensitive. Running her fingers thru his curls, she brings him back to her mouth for another kiss. Kissing his way to her breasts, he first finds her nipples. they have become more sensitive since he last saw them, his touch sends a gasp of pleasure to her lips and a bolt of electricity straight to her center. She pulls him closer, as he tries to make up to her in one night all the time he has missed.

She nearly has an orgasm from him alone paying such attention to her breasts, when she feels his hand going to her center. He gently pulls her panties down when she lifts her hips up to help him with this task. Her legs open for him, an invitation for him to come closer to her. He continues to kiss her while his hand returns to rest on her thigh and then he stops to look at her in an unasked question. She arches her back with a moan and a whispered, "Please." That is all he needs as he brings his hand to her.

He finds her clit, and gently runs his thumb over it, as his fingers find themselves going into her depths. And she answers him with a breathless groan that he didn't think he would ever hear again. He moves his fingers to find her g-spot, and his mouth finds her nipple again. When he gives her spot a tickle and a hard pull on her nipple, she nearly comes off the bed as the orgasm hits her. She continues riding his hand through the sensations.

Katniss snakes her hand to find him very hard and very ready for her. Peeta looks up from his feasting on her nipple and gives her a moan in answer when she gives him a tug. "I need you inside of me. Now, please." She whispers to him. Not saying a word, he gives both of her nipples a lick and a nibble.

He gets up from the bed. She starts to ask what is he doing, when she sees that he is going to close the door, they have been doing all of that with the door open? Thank goodness Jack didn't wake up! And then goes to his carry on bag in the corner of the room. He opens a side pocket, runs his fingers up and down his shaft, and then puts the condom on. He comes to join her again on the bed. He lowers himself to kiss her breasts once and she can feel him sliding inside her. Katniss tries not to think about how long it has been, but she knows that her second orgasm is going to be quick. He raises her legs until her ankles are resting on his shoulders, and then proceeds to make her his again. They both come quickly, Peeta collapsing on top of her when he is finished and both of them panting like they have just run a marathon.

he gets up to throw the condom away, and comes right back. He turns off the light, opens the window, grabs the covers and an almost asleep Katniss, and they both go to sleep together.

* * *

It is to a confused and slightly panicky Jack that wakes Katniss up. It takes her just a moment to realize that she is very naked with a very naked Peeta in his bedroom. She jumps up, grabs her shirt and his boxers, and puts them on.

She meets Jack at the door. "Mommy, what are you doing in Peeta's room?" he pushes past her to see where Peeta is waking. Jack stomps his foot and says, "I'm mad, Mommy. I'm so mad."

Katniss is still trying to wake up and doesn't understand what he is trying to say. "I love you, but what in the world are you talking about? Please use your words and tell me what is wrong."

Jack walks over to Peeta who is sitting up in the bed by now. "Peeta, I'm most mad at you." Jack stomps his foot.

"Young man! Would you please talk to me and tell me what is wrong." Katniss almost yells.

Jack turns to look at his mommy with tears in his eyes. Instantly she starts to worry that something is really wrong, when he says with tears in his voice, "Mommy. Peeta. You had a sleep over without me. I wanted to sleep in the bed with you too."

Not really sure about what to say next, Peeta jumps in for her, "Jack, we didn't mean to have a sleep over without you. We were up talking late and fell asleep. Now can you give me and Mommy some privacy for just a minute? Go wait for us in the living room."

Jack nods. "Ok, Peeta." He walks out of the bedroom.

Katniss starts to take off his boxers when he interrupts her, "It's ok. You keep them. They look better on you, anyway."

She blushes at his words. Not saying a word, she goes into the adjoining bathroom.

After she is dressed and her hair is no longer sticking straight up she goes to find Jack. He is in his room looking for something to wear. After she helps him get dressed, she goes out to the kitchen to start breakfast. She guesses she should say something to Jack about finding her in Peeta's room, but she might just wait to see if he will say anything about it. Peeta comes out of the bedroom dressed and comes to stand beside her in the kitchen so he can make his cup of tea.

He glances at her out of the corner of his eye, and she gives him a little smile when she hands him a mug. Before he can catch himself, he gives her a little kiss on her cheek. All Katniss can do is stand there and blink at him while he walks to the table to sit down beside Jack. She finishes up the French toast and slides it onto a plate. She meets Peeta's eyes over Jack's head with a little smile and puts Jack's plate in front of him.

"That smells really good, Jack. Do you think Mommy will fix me some too?"

Jack speaks around a mouth full of toast, "Mommy, can Peeta have some too?"

She gives Jack a glass of milk and a napkin and reminds him, "Jack don't talk with food in your mouth. Yes, I can fix Peeta some."

"Oh, Katniss, did you talk to Annie the other day like you two planned?"

"No we didn't get to. She ended up having a teachers meeting and I had to plan hiking trips for 3 big groups. Annie did text and say that as long as we take things slowly, and let them," when Katniss said them, she nodded towards Jack, "ask questions. She thinks everything will be ok."

"Well that's good. We wouldn't want 'them' to be hurt in all of this. Are you going back to Panem today?"

"Yes, I told Posy I would be in around 1:00. So we need to be on the road soon…"

"Mommy, do we have to?"

"Yes, Bear. You know we have things to do. Are you finished eating?"

He picks up his plate and carries it to the sink. "Can I watch TV. for a little bit?"

"Go ahead, Bear. I need to talk to Peeta anyway."

Jack settles on the couch and Katniss takes his seat beside Peeta at the table. She starts to say something when Peeta says, "Last night was a nice and wonderful surprise. Now before you over-analyze it like you always do, I just want to say that it meant a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. And I want you in my life anyway you will be there. Whether it's just as Jack's mom, friends, lovers, or even more than that. It's like I said before, I will take you anyway I can get you. I'm leaving it up to you. Now what were you going to say?"

"You said it. I'm still scared. I'm scared of when we tell Jack, I'm scared of one day I wouldn't be enough for you, I'm scared that one day everyone I love is going to leave me…"

He cuts her off with a little kiss. He wants to take it deeper, but Jack is just behind them on the couch. She stops the kiss and he rests his forehead against hers. "Katniss you can't live like this. Let's just keep on doing what we are doing. And let things happen as they will."

* * *

On Saturday Peeta meets the moving truck from Atlanta with the rest of his furniture. Much to his surprise they get it unloaded fairly quickly and locked away in the space. He gives them a tip for their help and they start back to Atlanta. Katniss is working for Posy at the shop today, and Jack is at the Hawthorne's so he decides to stop by the bakery even though he is still angry at them for keeping Jack from him.

He pulls into the parking lot and sees that the whole family is here. Well that's good. At least he will only have to tell them once and be done with it. He eases in the back door and everyone is busy working. Dad is finishing up a cake, Bram is taking bread out of the oven, and Rye is bagging rolls. His mother is out front ringing up Mrs. Cartwright, Delly's mom.

When they hear the bell over the back door ring, the men look up with looks of happy surprise on their faces. They call out greetings to him, and Anna even comes from the front of the bakery to see what is going on.

"What are you doing here Peeta?" Graham asks.

"I decided to store my furniture here until I can find a more permanent place to live. I do have an announcement to make. Can everyone take a minute to listen?" he wipes his hands nervously on his pants legs. He decides to just say it all at once, "I have a son. And his name is Jackson Peeta Everdeen."

* * *

**What do you think?**

**It's kind of a cliffhanger. I promise that it's going to be good. **


End file.
